Your consolation brought me joy!
Psalm 94:19
It was in 2013. I wake up early, around 3 a.m., in the morning. It was still dark outside, and we just had a volcano explosion from Mount Merapi that caused an earthquake. It is about 17 mi north of Yogyakarta - Indonesia, the place where I used to live. I remember when I heard the roar from the north, my heartbeat becomes extremely fast, and my mind was full of fear. I felt my bed was shaken and I was half awake. All of sudden I felt like I heard the voice in the midst of the danger said, "Wake up, wake up! What are you living for? I give you life only to worship me." When I fully awake I've just realized with what just happened to me. God specifically speaks to me in the midst of the wilderness. I then wrote them down in my journal. I found the depth of peace when I was experiencing this although I still don't fully understand. Two years later, after I graduated from University, I decided to come to Australia and start Bible College at Hillsong College. I just found out that this experience has to lead me to know God's purpose in my life. Have you ever experienced your life in the midst of danger? Where life seems like in the middle of nowhere? When people around you can't help you because of the struggle that they have? Or when people too busy with their lives and don't even have time to help or just solely pray for you? It is intensely frustrating, isn't it? The anxiety level might increase, and you don't even know where to go. Well, the good news is that God also doesn't want us having the anxiety in our life. The problem in our life is not designed to make life miserable but become stronger in our faith. So then we can cling and fully surrender to him.
Sometimes when we went through the hardest part of our life, we tempted to blame God. "God! What had you just done to my life? It is terrible. I thought you love me, God!" It is easy to put God as the main object of what went wrong in our life especially when we are suffered in unpredictable situations over and over. Many people lose their hope because they forgot that they have a purpose in their life. Our God is consistent to bring his people out from the captive. We will look back on the history when Israel still in exile for a second. Israel was meant to be a light to the nations; to live set apart so then God's name will be glorified above all people and nations. Isaiah 42:6 says, "I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles." God, himself has called you to live in righteousness, and he will take hold your hand. He will keep you to be a covenant for your family, your church, your workplace, and nation. And you will be the light for those who have never received the covenant with God. In saying that, God has given us the purpose of becoming his bridge that is connecting them with God through the way we think and act. The Psalter stimulates our imagination, arouses our emotions and appeals to our wills. Reading the Psalms touches the very core of our being. That is why our ability to see life is matter. If we interact with a group of kids and asking them to draw what they think of their future, we will find a lot of surprises. I had the experience when I was teaching Sunday School, one five years old boy, draw himself with his parents inside of the plane as passengers, waving his hand. Apparently, there is also another guy to sit right on the front seat. I asked him, "Who is this?" and he answered "It's Jesus, driving the plane. My dream is to travel around the world with my parents, and with the plane where Jesus will be the pilot!" This kid is specific in describing what he thought will be his dream. The way Psalter describes things are significant, meaningful and brief. David said, "When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy." Jesus said, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and he will give you rest." He knows exactly the reason of his being and the purpose of his life. He came as the answer for those who are weak, weary, brokenhearted, needy, vulnerable, poor and above all that for the sinner like us. So now after his obedience on the cross, we can participate in the victory that He has owed. So that we can work together on the things that he has given to us to fulfil whatever purpose in our life. I don't know about you, but if you are in the middle of the wilderness and your heart is full of anxiety right now, then I hope these words will speak specifically over your life. Don't let your worry has the authority over you. Just open your heart to receive the consolation that is coming from God cause that will give you the clarity to make a decision ahead. Allow him to reveal something to you today and don't harden your heart. As you allow him to do his work, you will feel his presence that can bring you joy. You will find comfort in his spirit that can change your situation right now. And if you have been struggling on your own so far, it is never too late to turn back to God and start a new journey with him. Ask him to give you his purpose in your life, write them on paper, make it personal and start building a new life with God's purpose within it. Notes :
Tremper Longman III, How to Read the Psalms (Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 51-52.
Patte, Daniel, Structural Criticism in Haynes & McKenzie (ed), To Each Its Own Meaning, Rev Ed, (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1999), pp. 183-200.
Alistar E. McGrath, Christian Theology, (USA: Blackwell Publishing, 2007), 175-426
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