“And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away, and be at rest.”
Haven’t you sometimes felt this way? There is something about we human beings that makes us want “to get away from it all.” In a way tourism has almost become a boom market, because people want to “fly away like a dove.” Sometimes the realities of the moment just seem too much for us. David was going through such a time as this, and he wanted to just get away and “be at rest.” For example, look at verses 1-3 of Psalm 55: “Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not thyself from my supplication. 2. Attend unto me, and hear me. I mourn in my complaint and make a noise. 3. Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.” Come on, let’s cut David some slack here. If we were surrounded by enemies like David was, we would probably want to sprout wings and fly away as well. Well, David didn’t sprout wings, and he did not fly away. This would be impossible for us as well. Where would one go to get away? Let’s say that you are having trouble at work. Maybe there is a person, or people, there who are just making life miserable for you. The first thing is that if you “fly away,” say to the beach, your problems and your anger will just go with you. Besides that, you will have to return to work and the problems will still be there. Getting away might have helped for the moment, but it did not solve the problem at work. It could be that you are just plain tired of politics in America right now. I know that I am. I have caught myself thinking like David, I wish that I could sprout wings, fly away, and get away from the animosity and hatred. “But,” I ask myself, “Where would you go?” There is no hiding place on earth that can shield us permanently from the realities of daily living. What in the world can we do? Is there no hope? Well, just read on. You have probably already guessed what the first thing is that I will write here is that we can pray! This is what David did. Look at verses 16-18 and 22: “As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. 17. Evening and morning and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall answer me. 18. He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there are many with me. 22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” David flew away, not from the circumstances, but into the arms of God. Another insight that David received through prayer was shared in verse 18: “He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there are many with me.” We sometimes want to “fly away” because we feel that we are in our circumstances alone. This is never true of God’s people. We have God with us at all times, and we have our fellow Christians. Do you remember when Elijah ran away in fear of Jezebel? One of his problems was that he thought he was fighting the battle alone, but God gave him reassurance in 1 Kings 19:18: “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” (I suggest that you turn to 1 Kings 19 and read this whole account.) Through prayer and trust in God, we will not need to fly away, but we will learn to cope with the realities of our lives. It doesn’t hurt to take time away from our problems, but that will not heal them. We need to learn to trust God, and in trusting Him cope with our lives as they are - change what we can and accept what we can't change. Let Paul reassure you here in what he wrote in Philippians 4:6-7: "Be careful (do not be anxious about anything) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God, 7. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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