Burunche’s Blog

8 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
2 For Your arrows pierce me deeply, and Your hand presses me down.

3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin.

As an American physician, I had never encountered typhoid until I came to rural Ghana. Sure, I learned about Salmonella typhi in Microbiology classes; however, I really had no idea how thoroughly this disease could mess with someone’s body. Decades later, I have more knowledge of typhoid than I ever wanted.

I have seen people with holes in their intestines due to typhoid. I have seen people with typhoid pleuritis, an inflammation of the lining of the chest cavity. I personally suffer from fibromyalgia and arthritis-a gift from a bout of typhoid in July 2003 that has left every bit of my body aching. I have witnessed typhoid pneumonia, typhoid meningitis, and patients with jaundice from liver involvement. I have cared for patients with enlarged tender spleens due to typhoid. Ten per cent of all typhoid patients present with typhoid psychosis, and we just discharged a young man last week after he recovered from acute psychosis due to typhoid. These first verses from Psalm 38 graphically describe how many typhoid patients feel. I have included fibromyalgia in the title because typhoid has left me with that problem, and I know my experiences are typical for many others. As we go through this Bible study, you can fill in the blanks for whatever chronic problem plagues you, for most of the comments will still apply.

4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness.

6 I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my loins are full of inflammation, and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.

9 Lord, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart pants, my strength fails me; as for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.

Chronic typhoid can present as gradually increasing depression. Missionaries have called me, concerned that they have become emotionally drained and weak. Rather than prescribing antidepressants, I have advised them to undergo thorough treatment for typhoid. Weeks later, these same people have replied, thrilled that they now feel healthy and energetic. One missionary kid of our acquaintance contracted typhoid in 1991 just before leaving Ghana to attend school in the U.S. She remained undiagnosed until she returned to Ghana four years later and complained to experienced physicians here. They immediately diagnosed typhoid, treated her, and ended four years of misdiagnosis and suffering.

11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, and my relatives stand afar off.
12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me; those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, and plan deception all the day long.

One of the ways I can tell a patient has typhoid is that they repeatedly describe all their symptoms in great detail, as if they fear that I won’t believe them without these repetitions. Typhoid affects every part of the body, and when a patient begins complaining of pain from their head to their toes, I start considering which typhoid treatment will be appropriate. (Parents of children with typhoid will do the same thing, emphatically describing all the symptoms as if they feel I might be deaf or indifferent.) At the same time, many family members of patients with chronic typhoid become fed up with their complaints and begin “standing afar off.”

13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; and I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.
14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth is no response.

One of the ways I can tell I am coming down with typhoid is the sudden onset of severe weakness. When I am in the throes of typhoid, I don’t care about anything; I simply want to lie down and rest as much as possible. Even speaking seems to be too much effort.

15 For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me, lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”

17 For I am ready to fall, and my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin.
19 But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong; and those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.
20 Those also who render evil for good, they are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.

21 Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!

Many Christians who have contracted typhoid, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, or other similar problems, find they are accusing themselves of spiritual failure, whether or not this is accurate. At such times, it is far better to suspend judging oneself and wait for God to handle things.

At the end of the day, those of us enduring chronic health problems and say with the psalmist, “Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!” The good news is that God WILL help us. I have continued to work as a missionary surgeon with fibromyalgia for twenty-three years because of the grace of God. Are there times when things hurt? Yes. But God has been merciful, and each time I have begged Him for strength and courage, He has been faithful to give me what I need to help my patients.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, many who are reading these words are struggling with chronic pain and other problems. Please speak to their hearts and help them to know that YOU ARE SUFFICIENT. You have said in Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Help these beloved people to call on You, knowing that You will surely help them. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Job 19:25-27

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God,
Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!

The aria is one of the high points of the second half of Handel’s Messiah, and the words and music have echoed for centuries. “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” As a child, I remember my mother singing that solo in church many times, and when my mother died in 1980, I made sure that our organist played this music as part of her funeral. But where did these words come from in the first place?

The first man to speak these words had lost everything in a series of disasters and was now sitting in rags, scraping at running sores with a pottery shard to relieve the itching and burning. To make matters even worse, the very friends who were supposed to be consoling him had begun attacking him, certain in their self-righteousness that this man must have committed unpardonable sins for which God was now punishing him. The Book of Job clearly documents just how scathing these criticisms were and how much Job had to struggle to answer them. Eventually, God stepped in, rebuking Job’s false friends and commending Job, even as He brought Job to a new realization of his limitations as a person. But before that deliverance, back during the criticisms, Job suddenly spoke one of the strongest affirmations of faith ever recorded.

Right now on our Male Ward, there are three patients for whom I am laboring in prayer. Each one of these men has a severe illness. One of the men has so many medical problems that I fully anticipate a phone call at any moment telling me of his death. These men are only typical of patients throughout the world who suffer as their medical problems inexorably multiply. These men are waiting for God to deliver them from their sicknesses. My constant prayer is that God will make Himself known to them so that they will be able to repeat Job’s statement.  

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God…

When facing such situations, I must remind myself that God has known each of these men since before they were born and that God knows the day they will die. God loves these men far more than I possibly can, and He wants each of them to trust in Jesus so that they will have eternal life. Please pray with me, that God will make Himself real to our patients, and that they will know Him in all His love and His glory.PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, we praise You for being our Redeemer, our Savior, and our Friend. Help us to trust in You and to tell others about You as well. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Psalm 130
Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.

If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope.
My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

We’ve all had those times, periods when our mistakes haunt us and our problems look insurmountable. Fifty years ago, as I was preparing to graduate from medical school, I wrote a piece for the campus newspaper paying tribute to the place and to my fellow medical students. I spoke of “contemplating one’s mediocrity at 2 AM with an overdose handy,” acknowledging the struggles of one of my classmates who had attempted suicide but who had survived. By that time, I too had endured the despair of a failed relationship, a clinical depression, and the temptation to commit suicide. Many medical students face looming anxieties, thinking of leaving the safety of medical school to function as a “real doctor.” Only a few years after I graduated, one surgery resident in a highly-ranked program plunged a knife into his own chest in an act of total hopelessness.

Saint John of the Cross, a sixteenth century Spanish saint, wrote a poem entitled “Dark Night of the Soul.” The poem depicted a time when John was in despair and went out at night seeking Jesus. When John found Jesus, Jesus struck him on the neck with his hand, causing John to leave all his cares and to focus only on Jesus’ love. This eight-stanza poem outlines the soul’s journey from the distractions and entanglements of the world to the perfect peace and harmony of union with God. According to the poet, the “dark night of the soul” is synonymous with traveling the “narrow way” that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7:13-14. (Gotquestions.org)

How can we survive “dark nights of the soul?” First, we must acknowledge that we have a problem. Twelve step programs are designed to help people addicted to various things to shake off those addictions. Here are the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous with simple explanations as explained on soberspeak.com :

Step 1
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.

→ This is where you stop fighting. It’s not failure. It’s the beginning of surrender and change.

Step 2
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

→ You don’t need to define that power yet. Just be open to the idea that something stronger than addiction exists, call it a higher power, the group, or even just hope.

Step 3
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

→ The third step is about trust, not dogma. A loving God of your understanding is enough.

Step 4
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

→ Time to dig deep. We look at our character flaws, fears, resentments, and harms.

Step 5
Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

→ You speak the truth. Shame loses its power when it’s shared out loud.

Step 6
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

→ Readiness is key. You don’t have to fix everything, just be willing.

Step 7
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

→ You ask—not demand. This is about humility, not self-hate.

Step 8
Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

→ Accountability starts here. It’s also the beginning of healthy relationships.

Step 9
Made direct amends wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

→ Actions matter more than apologies. But this step is done thoughtfully.

Step 10
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

→ Recovery is a daily practice, not a one-time event. This keeps your personal progress going.

Step 11
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will and the power to carry that out.

→ Spiritual growth, done your way. Keep it simple, keep it steady.

Step 12
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to A.A. members and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

“But,” you gasp, “I am not addicted to anything!” Oh? Are you sure? Behaviors can be as addictive as anything else. People can be addicted to approval and applause, demanding it from all those around them. Some people are addicted to self-pity, whether or not there are actual grounds for such sentiments. Some people are bullies, confusing noise with achievement and power. No matter the origin of an addiction, the results will eventually be the same: destruction of relationships and despair.

Psalm 130 begins with someone in the depths of despair, but the psalm doesn’t end there. The psalmist realizes his/her plight but also realizes that God is the Source of all hope. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope.
My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Psalm 130 offers hope of redemption, a Savior who can lift us out of all the messes we have created for ourselves. There is such a Savior, and His name is Jesus, our Redeemer, and the lover who comes to us in our dark nights of the soul. Turn to him! Run to him! Trust him!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to turn all our problems over to You, trusting that You can bring perfect solutions. We praise You that You are our Redeemer, our Savior, and our Friend. In Your mighty and precious Name, King Jesus. Amen.

Psalm 62:1-2 I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for him to rescue me. For salvation comes from him alone. Yes, he alone is my Rock, my rescuer, defense and fortress. Why then should I be tense with fear when troubles come?

3-4 But what is this? They pick on me at a time when my throne is tottering; they plot my death and use lies and deceit to try to force me from the throne. They are so friendly to my face while cursing in their hearts!

5-6 But I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for him to rescue me. For salvation comes from him alone. Yes, he alone is my Rock, my rescuer, defense, and fortress—why then should I be tense with fear when troubles come?

When the matter first began, I had no idea of what was happening. I was the only doctor for a busy 100-bed hospital, operating on several hundred patients a year. We had a head of nursing who had a successful track record as a Nurse Manager in another facility. What I didn’t know was that I had one young inexperienced nurse who fancied himself as a leader and a midwife who was hoping to oust our Nurse Manager in hopes she would take over the position. Before I realized the scope of the problem, meetings were being organized and sentiments whipped up. Eventually, we had to resort to scrutiny by an outside panel who eventually concluded that our staff had no knowledge of understanding of hospital affairs.

Meanwhile, I was struggling to operate and to keep people alive. My throne was definitely tottering, even though I had done nothing wrong and even though I was doing the work of three doctors, plus struggling with administrative issues that should have been handled by someone else.

Throughout those trials, God sovereignly moved, despite rebellion and despite vicious accusations. All I could do was to stand silently before the Lord, waiting for Him to rescue me, knowing that salvation had to come from Him alone.

7 -9 My protection and success come from God alone. He is my refuge, a Rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust him all the time. Pour out your longings before him, for he can help! The greatest of men or the lowest—both alike are nothing in his sight. They weigh less than air on scales.

10-12 Don’t become rich by extortion and robbery; if your riches increase, don’t be proud. God has said it many times, that power belongs to him (and also, O Lord, steadfast love belongs to you). He rewards each one of us according to what our works deserve.

That summer heralded the first such problem, but unfortunately, not the last. Subsequently, the same individuals later attempted to arouse the staff over administrative issues. Lacking substantive administration, I found myself repeatedly facing insults and ridicule, even though some of the very people who were voicing these complaints had previously benefited from sponsorship by the hospital to courses of various kinds.

I can truly testify that my protection and success have come from God alone. He is my refuge, a Rock where no enemy can reach me. I can also testify that I have had to repeatedly run to God as my rock, for problems of various kinds have continued to occur. How have I endured? I continue to take my orders from God, trying to ensure that I am doing His will and not my own. Once I am certain that I am following God’s guidance, God is the One who will protect and defend me.

O my people, trust him all the time. Pour out your longings before him, for he can help! One of the mistakes many people make is assuming that prayer is a difficult task requiring special language. Wait a minute! This is GOD we are talking to! The same God who formed us in our mothers’ wombs, the same God who has preserved us our entire lives. God is not hung up on fancy language or attitudes. God wants you to speak from your heart, for anything else is just manipulation.

Why do we have to speak out our prayers if God already knows what’s in our hearts? We need to speak them out so that we acknowledge our situation and are honest about it. How much talking must we do when we pray? This is where many people mess up. Prayer is not a monologue but a dialogue. Once you have spoken, you must be silent and listen so God can speak to you. Very few of us hear audible voices; however, if you quiet yourself, you will hear a voice in your mind that is not yours. How can you know that Satan is not deceiving you? Study God’s Word. God honors His Word above His name, and He will never go back on His Word.

10-12 Don’t become rich by extortion and robbery; if your riches increase, don’t be proud. God has said it many times, that power belongs to him (and also, O Lord, steadfast love belongs to you). He rewards each one of us according to what our works deserve.

Finally, remember that all power belongs to God, as well as steadfast love. Actions have consequences. What goes around, comes around!

Galatians 6:7-10 tells us, “ Don’t be misled; remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it: a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows! If he sows to please his own wrong desires, he will be planting seeds of evil and he will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death; but if he plants the good things of the Spirit, he will reap the everlasting life that the Holy Spirit gives him. And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up. That’s why whenever we can, we should always be kind to everyone, and especially to our Christian brothers.

Trust God and not yourself! Take refuge in God, realizing that He is the only Rock on whom we can rely.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to trust You, no matter what. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Psalm 33:1-3 Let all the joys of the godly well up in praise to the Lord, for it is right to praise him. Play joyous melodies of praise upon the lyre and on the harp. Compose new songs of praise to him, accompanied skillfully on the harp; sing joyfully.

4-7 For all God’s words are right, and everything he does is worthy of our trust. He loves whatever is just and good; the earth is filled with his tender love. He merely spoke, and the heavens were formed and all the galaxies of stars. He made the oceans, pouring them into his vast reservoirs.

8-11 Let everyone in all the world—men, women, and children—fear the Lord and stand in awe of him. For when he but spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command! And with a breath he can scatter the plans of all the nations who oppose him, but his own plan stands forever. His intentions are the same for every generation.

12-15 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his own. The Lord gazes down upon mankind from heaven where he lives. He has made their hearts and closely watches everything they do.

16-17 The best-equipped army cannot save a king—for great strength is not enough to save anyone. A war horse is a poor risk for winning victories—it is strong, but it cannot save.

18-22 But the eyes of the Lord are watching over those who fear him, who rely upon his steady love. He will keep them from death even in times of famine! We depend upon the Lord alone to save us. Only he can help us; he protects us like a shield. (Other versions say, “Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.) No wonder we are happy in the Lord! For we are trusting him. We trust his holy name. Yes, Lord, let your constant love surround us, for our hopes are in you alone.

Throughout the centuries, God has protected Israel, revitalizing it when it seemed that Israel would perish as a nation. During the six-day war in 1967, many miracle stories emerged, with the Israeli army succeeding when they should have crumpled, Israeli bombers that miraculously survived, etc.

As I am writing this, the war between Israel and Iran has been paused temporarily; however, prior to this conflict, Israel was already enduring many missile strikes a day. The amazing thing is that Israel continues to exist at all, let alone that Israelis are continuing to work, attend school, etc. While Israeli technology is excellent, there is also the strong probability that God is protecting Israel in ways we cannot imagine.

Many of us fail to realize that we serve an all-powerful, all-knowing God, the Creator of the universe, and the One who watches over all of us. Does God expect us to sit down, fold our hands and wait for Him to do something? Absolutely not! We must do what God has gifted us to do; however, God can act in ways far beyond our ability or comprehension.

Currently, we are facing several challenges in our situation, many of which are exhausting simply to think about. But God expects us to continue to offer our best efforts, no matter how discouraged we might feel. The magnificent thing about God is that when we do what we can, He can come in to help multiply our efforts.

We depend upon the Lord alone to save us. Only he can help us; he protects us like a shield. (Other versions say, “Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.) No wonder we are happy in the Lord! For we are trusting him. We trust his holy name. Yes, Lord, let your constant love surround us, for our hopes are in you alone.

Depend on God! Trust God! And remember that He will surround us with His constant love.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, please help us to trust You even as we do the work You have called us to do. Protect us and truly be our help and our shield. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Psalm 40:1-4 I waited patiently for God to help me; then he listened and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out from the bog and the mire, and set my feet on a hard, firm path, and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, of praises to our God. Now many will hear of the glorious things he did for me, and stand in awe before the Lord, and put their trust in him. Many blessings are given to those who trust the Lord and have no confidence in those who are proud or who trust in idols.

There’s a horrible story in Jeremiah 38:1-13. The Babylonians are camped outside Jerusalem. God commands Jeremiah to warn the citizens of Jerusalem that they should surrender to the Babylonians to save their lives, causing court officials to report him as a traitor. Never mind that one of the largest most powerful armies in the entire region is just at the city gates. These wicked men throw Jeremiah into a well with several feet of mud in the bottom. Just as Jeremiah is sinking into the mire, Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian court official, saves him. Jeremiah remains in prison, but he has been saved from suffocating in the mire.  

Many of us might identify with Jeremiah. Sometimes we find ourselves caught in situations that only seem to get worse the longer we try to escape. The harder we struggle, the deeper we descend into the sticky mire. We feel our situations are hopeless and have nothing we can do. We are waiting for complete annihilation, just as Jeremiah was. Stuck in the depths of that well, Jeremiah had no recourse, and we feel just as helpless. But God is still there and He can still deliver us completely.

At such times, we must remind ourselves that God has already delivered us many times on other occasions.

5 O Lord my God, many and many a time you have done great miracles for us, and we are ever in your thoughts. Who else can do such glorious things? No one else can be compared with you. There isn’t time to tell of all your wonderful deeds.

6-8 It isn’t sacrifices and offerings that you really want from your people. Burnt animals bring no special joy to your heart. But you have accepted the offer of my lifelong service. Then I said, “See, I have come, just as all the prophets foretold. And I delight to do your will, my God, for your law is written upon my heart!”

9-12 I have told everyone the good news that you forgive people’s sins. I have not been timid about it, as you well know, O Lord. I have not kept this good news hidden in my heart but have proclaimed your loving-kindness and truth to all the congregation.

O Lord, don’t hold back your tender mercies from me! My only hope is in your love and faithfulness. Otherwise I perish, for problems far too big for me to solve are piled higher than my head. Meanwhile my sins, too many to count, have all caught up with me, and I am ashamed to look up. My heart quails within me.

13-15 Please, Lord, rescue me! Quick! Come and help me! Confuse them! Turn them around and send them sprawling—all these who are trying to destroy me. Disgrace these scoffers with their utter failure!

16 But may the joy of the Lord be given to everyone who loves him and his salvation. May they constantly exclaim, “How great God is!”

17 I am poor and weak, yet the Lord is thinking about me right now! O my God, you are my helper. You are my Savior; come quickly and save me. Please don’t delay!

What can we do when we’re stuck with no way out? Appeal to the Lord who has saved us before, confessing our sins and reassuring ourselves of His power to save. Psalm 40 reminds us that God has not abandoned us and that He will deliver us at the right time. Let us continue to praise Him!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, we praise You, for You are our Deliverer and our only Source of hope. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Psalm 25:1-3 To you, O Lord, I pray. Don’t fail me, Lord, for I am trusting you. Don’t let my enemies succeed. Don’t give them victory over me. None of those who have faith in God will ever be disgraced for trusting him. But all who harm the innocent shall be defeated.

4-7 Show me the path where I should go, O Lord; point out the right road for me to walk. Lead me; teach me; for you are the God who gives me salvation. I have no hope except in you. Overlook my youthful sins, O Lord! Look at me instead through eyes of mercy and forgiveness, through eyes of everlasting love and kindness.

8-10 The Lord is good and glad to teach the proper path to all who go astray; he will teach the ways that are right and best to those who humbly turn to him. And when we obey him, every path he guides us on is fragrant with his loving-kindness and his truth.

11 But Lord, my sins! How many they are. Oh, pardon them for the honor of your name.

12 Where is the man who fears the Lord? God will teach him how to choose the best.

13 He shall live within God’s circle of blessing, and his children shall inherit the earth.

14 Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence him. With them alone he shares the secrets of his promises.

15-20 My eyes are ever looking to the Lord for help, for he alone can rescue me. Come, Lord, and show me your mercy, for I am helpless, overwhelmed, in deep distress; my problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! See my sorrows; feel my pain; forgive my sins. See how many enemies I have and how viciously they hate me! Save me from them! Deliver my life from their power! Oh, let it never be said that I trusted you in vain!

21-22 Assign me Godliness and Integrity as my bodyguards, for I expect you to protect me and to ransom Israel from all her troubles.

One of the saddest stories in the Old Testament is the story of King Saul, the first king in Israel. Saul was tall and handsome with a commanding presence. But Saul was impulsive, easily swayed by public opinion, and lacking faith in God. The prophet Samuel ordered Saul to wait until Samuel arrived to sacrifice, but when Samuel delayed, Saul panicked and did it himself, losing everything in the process.

One of the challenges of modern life in the IT era is that many of us have developed extremely short attention spans. We have become so accustomed to obtaining instant answers from Google that the laborious library research students used to do seems impossible. These days, there are apps for nearly everything and people order food, clothing, and all kinds of other things online, anticipating swift deliveries. Friends who are university professors are struggling with questions about student integrity when students submit AI generated papers and theses. Where does legitimacy stand in such matters? But God doesn’t work that way.

Look what the psalmist is saying in verses 1-3. To you, O Lord, I pray. Don’t fail me, Lord, for I am trusting you. Don’t let my enemies succeed. Don’t give them victory over me. None of those who have faith in God will ever be disgraced for trusting him. But all who harm the innocent shall be defeated.

These words are written by someone who has been waiting, expecting God to act, and who has yet to see any deliverance. Now the writer is sweating bullets, wondering if God is really going to come through for him or not.

One of the frustrating things about God is that He sees entire situations, not merely our side of them. While we are struggling and demanding God extricate us from persecution, God is also looking at our persecutors, arranging details so that those same people might repent from their evil deeds. As an example, people love to hate George Soros, and indeed Mr. Soros has authored a great deal of evil. But God remembers when the morning stars sang for joy that Mr. Soros was born as an infant, and incredibly, God still loves Mr. Soros. While some of us are thinking that no horrible fate could be too bad for such an individual, God continues to call to him and will do so until he dies.

At the end of time, if God chooses to reveal it to us, we will see that every single murderer, every Hitler or Stalin or Tamerlane or Caesar was given the chance to repent. Even now, as Vladimir Putin orchestrates attacks on Ukraine, God continues to call Mr. Putin to himself. We’re fond of spouting platitudes about divine love when it’s applied to us; however, we find it incomprehensible when God applies it to those whom we despise.

We conveniently forget that during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commanded his followers “There is a saying, ‘Love your friends and hate your enemies.’ But I say: Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way you will be acting as true sons of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust too. (Matthew 5:43-45)

So what are we to do? We are to wait on God, trusting that He knows the end from the beginning and that He will act at the right time. And while we are waiting, we should also echo the prayer at the end of Psalm 25: Come, Lord, and show me your mercy, for I am helpless, overwhelmed, in deep distress; my problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! See my sorrows; feel my pain; forgive my sins. See how many enemies I have and how viciously they hate me! Save me from them! Deliver my life from their power! Oh, let it never be said that I trusted you in vain!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to trust that You are working things out. Show us Your mercy! Deliver us from our enemies! And forgive our sins, for they are many. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Psalm 37:1-3 Never envy the wicked! Soon they fade away like grass and disappear. Trust in the Lord instead. Be kind and good to others; then you will live safely here in the land and prosper, feeding in safety.

4-6 Be delighted with the Lord. Then he will give you all your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it, and he will. Your innocence will be clear to everyone. He will vindicate you with the blazing light of justice shining down as from the noonday sun.

7-11 Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for him to act. Don’t be envious of evil men who prosper.

Stop your anger! Turn off your wrath. Don’t fret and worry—it only leads to harm. For the wicked shall be destroyed, but those who trust the Lord shall be given every blessing. Only a little while and the wicked shall disappear. You will look for them in vain. But all who humble themselves before the Lord shall be given every blessing and shall have wonderful peace.

12-15 The Lord is laughing at those who plot against the godly, for he knows their judgment day is coming. Evil men take aim to slay the poor; they are ready to butcher those who do right. But their swords will be plunged into their own hearts, and all their weapons will be broken.

Live long enough, and you will DEFINITELY suffer at the hands of someone wicked! Fellow students in school, fellow employees at work, supervisors who favor those who are well-connected or wealthy-the list of situations is endless. When we suffer at the hands of evil people, many of us turn to God, blaming Him. “God, why are You letting these people get away with this stuff? Why aren’t You intervening and protecting me?

When we think such things, we are failing to remember that we live in a fallen sinful world and that all of us have free will, including those who are evil. That means that bad people can make terrible choices that hurt or kill people. During the most recent Easter celebrations in Nigeria, many churches were attacked by Islamic extremists who slaughtered worshipers. What about those people? Those church members died as martyrs, and God knew every one of them. Even though such deaths horrify us, God can still use those deaths to convict the murderers and bring them to repentance.

What about those who benefit from evil? Sadly, many of the old-time fortunes built by families in New England originated with the triangle trade, selling tobacco to the West Indies, where ships collected rum that was then shipped to West Africa, where the ships loaded slaves, bringing them back to America. Other families have built fortunes by bootlegging liquor during Prohibition. It’s tempting to look at such things and accuse God of turning a blind eye; however, actions have consequences, and God keeps score.

16-17 It is better to have little and be godly than to own an evil man’s wealth; or the strength of evil men shall be broken, but the Lord takes care of those he has forgiven.

18-22 Day by day the Lord observes the good deeds done by godly men,[b] and gives them eternal rewards. He cares for them when times are hard; even in famine, they will have enough. But evil men shall perish. These enemies of God will wither like grass and disappear like smoke. Evil men borrow and “cannot pay it back”! But the good man returns what he owes with some extra besides. Those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by him shall die.

God does reward virtue, and He knows how to care for those who love Him. Many times, we confuse wealth with safety; however, money is a relatively useless commodity. You can’t eat money or wear money but only buy things you need. When God supplies your needs without giving you wealth, you are still cared for. C. H. Spurgeon was fond of saying that “Remember that omnipotence has servants everywhere.”

23-28 The steps of good men are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take. If they fall, it isn’t fatal, for the Lord holds them with his hand.

I have been young and now I am old. And in all my years I have never seen the Lord forsake a man who loves him; nor have I seen the children of the godly go hungry. Instead, the godly are able to be generous with their gifts and loans to others, and their children are a blessing.

So if you want an eternal home, leave your evil, low-down ways and live good lives. For the Lord loves justice and fairness; he will never abandon his people. They will be kept safe forever; but all who love wickedness shall perish.

29-33 The godly shall be firmly planted in the land and live there forever. The godly man is a good counselor because he is just and fair and knows right from wrong.

Evil men spy on the godly, waiting for an excuse to accuse them and then demanding their death. But the Lord will not let these evil men succeed, nor let the godly be condemned when they are brought before the judge.

34-40 Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honor you with every blessing, and you will see the wicked destroyed. I myself have seen it happen: a proud and evil man, towering like a cedar of Lebanon, but when I looked again, he was gone! I searched but could not find him! But the good man—what a different story! For the good man—the blameless, the upright, the man of peace—he has a wonderful future ahead of him. For him there is a happy ending. But evil men shall be destroyed, and their posterity shall be cut off.

The Lord saves the godly! He is their salvation and their refuge when trouble comes. Because they trust in him, he helps them and delivers them from the plots of evil men.

This psalm is one of our favorites, for we have found ourselves targeted by evil people on several occasions. But throughout all our struggles, God has remained faithful and continues to provide in surprising ways. And truly, there have been many times when our accusers have simply vanished into the background, never to be heard from again.

What can we learn from this psalm?

1. Trust in the Lord.
2. Be delighted with the Lord.
3. Commit everything you do to the Lord.
4. Trust him to help you do it, and he will. 
5. Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for him to act.
6. Don’t fret and worry—it only leads to harm.
7. The steps of good men are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take. 

Take heart! God delights in you! God wants good things for you! And God will never leave you or forsake you! Delight in Him, commit everything to Him, and trust Him.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to delight in You, commit everything to You, and trust You, no matter what happens. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Psalm 27 The Lord is my light and my salvation; he protects me from danger—whom shall I fear? 2 When evil men come to destroy me, they will stumble and fall! 3 Yes, though a mighty army marches against me, my heart shall know no fear! I am confident that God will save me.

4 The one thing I want from God, the thing I seek most of all, is the privilege of meditating in his Temple, living in his presence every day of my life, delighting in his incomparable perfections and glory. 5 There I’ll be when troubles come. He will hide me. He will set me on a high rock 6 out of reach of all my enemies. Then I will bring him sacrifices and sing his praises with much joy.

7 Listen to my pleading, Lord! Be merciful and send the help I need.

8 My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me, O my people.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

9 Oh, do not hide yourself when I am trying to find you. Do not angrily reject your servant. You have been my help in all my trials before; don’t leave me now. Don’t forsake me, O God of my salvation. 10 For if my father and mother should abandon me, you would welcome and comfort me.

11 Tell me what to do, O Lord, and make it plain because I am surrounded by waiting enemies. 12 Don’t let them get me, Lord! Don’t let me fall into their hands! For they accuse me of things I never did, and all the while are plotting cruelty. 13 I am expecting the Lord to rescue me again, so that once again I will see his goodness to me here in the land of the living.

14 Don’t be impatient. Wait for the Lord, and he will come and save you! Be brave, stouthearted, and courageous. Yes, wait and he will help you.

Nobody likes waiting! Forty years ago, when we were teaching Children’s Church, we learned that we needed to change up our activities at least every 10 minutes because of the kids’ short attention spans. Now with instant social media on phones and tablets and channel changers allowing us to flip through TV programs, adults have even shorter attention spans than those kids did forty years ago. We want instant results, and if they are not forthcoming, we are likely to begin sulking as if the universe owed us something. But God works on different timetables than we do. If you are a farmer or a gardener, you know that you can’t plant seeds today and harvest tomorrow. Each crop has its own timetable, and nothing will speed up that process. Plants need a certain amount of time, sunshine, fertilizer, water, and patience.

When raising children, there are also no instant results, at least not positive ones. One act of cruelty might scar a child for a lifetime but helping children develop character is a slow and sometimes painful process. When several farm families have posted Facebook videos of their kids working on farms, the comments have been vicious. The same parents who think nothing of exposing their kids to violent video games appear to feel qualified to criticize farm families allowing their children to take responsibility.

As a farm kid who grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s when farming entailed a lot more hard physical labor, let me share a few of the tasks my brothers and I undertook routinely.

1. Carrying feed and water to animals and chickens-we began as soon as we were big enough to handle buckets. Did some of the water slop out? Yes. Did we get wet? Yes. Did we learn? Yes.
2. Checking animals in the field to see if they were healthy. Hog confinement setups were rare, and most farmers raised pigs out in the field in hog pastures. I vividly remember riding out in our pickup to remote hog pastures and then running around the pasture, checking to make sure all the pigs appeared healthy and that none of them appeared to be lame or suffering in some other fashion.
3. Cleaning the mud out of hog waterers with bare hands-pigs root and bring dirt into their waterers when they drink. The mud must continue to be cleaned by hand. I’m sure there are better watering tanks now, but this was reality. Incidentally, this task even had to be done in winter when the mud was half frozen.
4. Gathering eggs-before we sold off our chicken flock, we had 500 chickens and sold our eggs commercially. We gathered eggs twice a day.
5. Milking cows by hand-I began milking by hand as soon as my hands were big enough and strong enough, around the age of 8.
6. Shoveling off ground feed from the back of a pickup truck. We would send grain into town to the elevator to be ground and then bring it back out. At that point, the feed had to be shoveled by hand into a storage area. I vividly remember shoveling off a half ton of ground feed, one scoop at a time.
7. Pitching manure-barns and chicken houses had to be cleaned by hand. Some of us still remember how to handle pitch forks.
8. Carrying ground feed and mineral pellets down the center of feed bunks to beef cattle. A five-gallon bucket weighs 25 pounds when full.
9. Helping with the family garden. We always had a large garden, and Mom taught us the differences between vegetables and weeds quite early. We learned how to care for vegetables and how to harvest them, handling them gently.
10. Driving tractors-my brothers began at age 7 while I was an ancient crone of 10 years. My parents began drilling road safety into us as soon as we got bicycles, and we were not allowed on public roads until we were old enough to drive legally.
11. Above all, we learned to work. I don’t recall either of my brothers or I complaining about our tasks; in fact, we felt honored that our parents trusted us with these responsibilities. We were only one generation away from families where some children had to leave school after eighth grade to help support families during the Depression.

One problem faced by those in urban population is that they have become so divorced from the land that they have never learned these lessons. Farming also teaches other lessons, including patience when crops fail or disasters strike. As I am writing this, ranchers in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas are struggling to recover from catastrophic prairie fires that have devastated farms and ranches held in families for several generations. Rebuilding will be difficult; however, these people are spiritually tough because they have had to endure before.

King David faced struggles throughout his lifetime and wrote Psalm 27 out of those experiences. Perhaps today, you feel trapped and wonder if help is ever coming. Remember Psalm 27:14 14 Don’t be impatient. Wait for the Lord, and he will come and save you! Be brave, stouthearted, and courageous. Yes, wait and he will help you.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, many of us are crying out, “How long? How long before deliverance comes?” Father, strengthen our hearts and help us to wait and trust where we cannot see. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Once Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead at Passover, the disciples looked forward to the next major Jewish feast, the Feast of Pentecost. The figure above outlines the seven major Jewish feasts, as well as their relationship to Christianity. The following description comes from Rabbi Jason, a Messianic Jewish rabbi, from Fusion Global. https://www.fusionglobal.org/connections/from-passover-to-pentecost/

From Passover To Pentecost

“From the day after the Sabbath [of Passover], the day you brought the barley sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks [to Pentecost]. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord… I am the Lord your God. “Leviticus 23:15-17, 22

Passover is incomplete without Pentecost, Shavuot in Hebrew. It is for this reason that we count down 49 days from Passover to Pentecost. This means that redemption (Passover) is not complete without the revelation of God’s Word which happened at Sinai on Pentecost with the giving of the 10 Commandments. The reason being is that redemption without revelation leads to a regression into slavery because without the truth you cannot truly be set free spiritually. Passover and Pentecost together lead to both salvation and transformation through Word and Spirit!

On Pentecost, God gave the 10 Commandants as well as the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts. Acts 2 is actually a re-enactment of Mount Sinai. The booming of the wind is like the thundering at Sinai, and the tongues of fire over the disciples’ heads are akin to the fire that came out of the mouth of God when He uttered the Commandments. Targum Neofiti, an ancient Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Bible describes it as follows, “like torches of fire, a torch of fire to the right and a torch of fire to the left. It flew and winged swiftly in the air…and returning it became engraved on the tablets of the covenant, and all Israel beheld it (Targum Neofiti 19:2). The split tongues of Acts 2 looked like the fire of Sinai, which is said to have inscribed the tablets of the covenant.

In Acts 2, God again imprinted His Word as He did on Sinai. This time, the stone tablets of Sinai were replaced as God wrote His new covenant within their heart:” I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel…I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts…” (Jeremiah 31:31,33)

Application:

The fact the 10 Commandments and Holy Spirit were both given on the same day is still very significant. It was by means of the Word and the Spirit that created the world. And it is through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit that we become new creations. Salvation must lead to transformation which occurs when your mind is renewed by God’s word through the power of the Spirit (Rom. 12:1). Therefore, make sure you read and study the Scriptures regularly and ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Word for you.

 

The website https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/holy-days/pentecost.html gives the following information: Pentecost is the third of God’s annual Feast days (periods) celebrated each year. It is also known as the Feast of Weeks, Feast of Harvest or the Day of Firstfruits.

Also, the Feast of the Harvest of the Firstfruits (Pentecost) of your labors, which you have sown in the field (Exodus 23:16, HBFV).

And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest . . . (Exodus 34:22, HBFV).

God commanded that on Pentecost no work is to be done.

And in the day of the firstfruits, when you bring a new grain offering to the Lord after your weeks have been counted, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no servile work. (Numbers 28:26, HBFV).

Pentecost represents the consummation of the first harvest, after seven weeks of labor, and also the arrival of the Israelites at Mount Sinai after seven weeks of weary wandering. Tradition states that God gave Israel the Ten Commandments on Pentecost.

The apostle Paul wanted to be at Jerusalem for Pentecost.

For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 20:16).

Christians have the firstfruits of God’s spirit within them, allowing them to be the first of many who will ultimately receive salvation. Believers follow in the path of Jesus, the first of the firstfruits in God’s great plan.

The Spirit itself bears witness conjointly with our own spirit, testifying that we are the children of God. Now if we are children, we are also heirs – truly, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ . . .

For the earnest expectation of the creation itself is awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God . . . For we know that all the creation is groaning together . . . And not only that, but even we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, also groan within ourselves . . . (Romans 8:16 – 17, 19, 22 – 23).

But now Christ has been raised from the dead; He has become the first-fruit of those who have fallen asleep (1Corinthians 15:20).

The 144,000 people of the tribes of Israel, converted during the great tribulation, will also be firstfruits unto God (study Revelation 14:1 – 4).

Why wait?

Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, after his resurrection, he gave a very important command to his disciples. He told them to wait or tarry in Jerusalem so that they could be given the might power of God’s Holy Spirit (Luke 24:46, 49). The Greek word translated as “tarry” is kathizo (Strong’s Concordance #G2523), which means to sit down. Jesus was telling his restless disciples to relax a bit and wait in Jerusalem until they received the power of God. It is then they could go out and preach the gospel to the world! The disciples would only have to wait a short time until Pentecost.

When the day of Pentecost arrived 120 of Jesus’ disciples, which included the twelve apostles, received the promised power of God. Peter spoke to the crowd gathered on the holy day about what the miracles they saw symbolized. They were a shadow fulfillment of what the prophet Joel predicted would happen at the end time just before the return of Christ (see Acts 2).

One of the many lessons of Pentecost is that sometimes we must wait for God to act, in his wisdom, before rushing off to do his will.   

What should we learn from the weeks we spend between Easter and Pentecost?

1. Ask God to open your mind and heart to anything new He wants to teach you.
2. Ask God to help you learn patience so that you will wait for Him to enlighten you.
3. Thank God that He is always doing new things and that there is no end to the things God can show you.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to learn all that You want to teach us during this time of waiting. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.