Psalm 129

1 From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me. Let all Israel repeat this:
2 From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, but they have never defeated me.
3 My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.
4 But the Lord is good; he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.
5 May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat.
6 May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop, turning yellow when only half grown,
7 ignored by the harvester, despised by the binder.
8 And may those who pass by refuse to give them this blessing:
“The Lord bless you; we bless you in the Lord’s name.”

"It is what it is..."

How many time have we heard that phrase? It's what I call a "blinding flash of the obvious". Like saying "red is red". But the subtext is really something different. It's often a melancholy statement...intended to reveal a begrudging acknowledgment of the dim realities around us.

This melancholy can understandably creep into our spiritual lives. Perhaps we've been waging a long battle with health issues. Maybe it's relationships. Possibly financial hardship. And of course, these are all troubles perpetrated by the evil one...to discourage us. These troubles are truly our enemies. We find ourselves saying "from the time I was a kid I've been struggling with this...it just won't let me go!" Not a complaint...simply a statement of fact.

It's often called "a desert experience" or "the dark night of the soul" Whatever we want to call it, its a time in our lives where we recognize life is very difficult...and can be for a long time. There is no shame in this. Trust me...it's common to all people.

So...what should we do in the face of a melancholy spirit? Our friends might say "just trust the Lord," of "get over it!" as though our trouble is an interloper in a life that is supposed to be free of such things. I don't see David saying he is done with trouble. On the contrary, trouble seems to be a statement of reality in his life. I see him proclaiming his enemies will never prevail because the Lord has "cut him free from the ropes of the ungodly". Try to get this picture: It is possible to be inflicted with trouble but not be bound by trouble. I see a big difference.

"But the Lord is good..."

You know why? Because whatever it is has not defeated us. And furthermore...whatever it is needs the blessings of God almighty to prevail. That will never happen.

"It is what it is..."


Live boldly out there today...