Asaph's clan is at it again with a psalm of lament regarding the exiled life. Jerusalem is so smashed up that there's no one left to bury the dead. Now, carrion birds are swooping into Jerusalem by the flock and are profaning the holy city. To the psalmist, this is a metaphor of the unclean nations (Babylon in particular) who have swooped in to plunder and feast on the goods of Israel. Naturally, watching something like this occur could be a detriment to one's faith. And for the worshiping community of Israel, it is coming to the point of inhibiting worship (see the end of the psalm). The worshipers ask in fairly brutal honesty, "Is this God worth worshiping?"
Somewhere in the back of their minds, they have a sneaky suspicion that God is still with them. After all, this is a piece for public worship, so they are at least showing up and talking to God. This implies some kind of relationship. But, just like us sometimes, they have a blockage to really letting loose with the praise. We have the same DNA they did, and the same brokenness. And sometimes, our places of brokenness (including, perhaps especially, the places where we have been further broken by someone else) can impair our ability to worship. Why did God allow this? Why me? What is God holding over me? are all questions that can lead to a fundamental breakdown in the with-God relationship. Psalms like these give us resources to say "I want to praise, I want to worship, please heal me in this area where I can't." May God bring wholeness to your areas of brokenness today.
No comments:
Post a Comment