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“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15 ESV) |
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Two painful communications came at the same hour. The first was from a former church member forced to move away because of work. His sweet young wife was very near death after a long war against cancer. The second was a note from an upset pastor. An African church where he taught last year was raided by a Muslim warlord who beheaded some Christians in front of their families. They were killed for refusing to recant their faith in Jesus. What do we do in the face of such raging evil? How does a follower of the Messiah handle such vivid revelations of a broken world full of disease, internal sin, spiritual oppression, foolishness, hate, and death? Scripture exposes many excellent angles of response to that question. We haven’t space to go into them all here, so I’ll share my personal shortcut: Psalm 116. When the wretchedness and falseness of this life press on me, I find Psalm 116 to be particularly effective at piercing the darkness. In this song, the Psalmist rights his perspective, balancing a world of falsehood and malice with the goodness and undeserved grace of God. He remembers what is true beyond what he sees. In anguish and tears, he turns to God for comfort. The writer is reminded that God offers salvation that stretches immeasurably far beyond the short pains of this life. He sees that good eternally may not be congruent with what we would call “good” here and now. He rediscovers the power of thanksgiving, even in grief. He recognizes God’s hand in death and His precious care for those who trust Him – saints that he takes to Himself. To summarize with the Psalmist’s own clause, he “calls upon the Lord.” When I do the same, it truly makes all the difference. |