Psalm 44

We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old. (v1)

The Israelite nation was taking a battering from enemy forces, and the psalmist decides to take their plight to the Lord. To get into the right frame of mind, he begins with a recap of their past God-given victories as recorded by his forebears, thereby assuring himself that he's going to the right place for help (vv 1-8 NLT).

In these words, we find a remedy for hopelessness: remembrance. When you can recall past blessings and victories, you can trust God for a better future. When you remember His past faithfulness, you know He will both come through for you, and bring you through.

But, in circumstances akin to verses 9-16, you may be facing the toughest times of your life, where even the little hope you cling to withers away, and you begin to suspect God has decided you are His enemy. Ideally, Christians should have no trials, and everything about our lives would be wonderfully rosy. Unfortunately, as we see here, that is not the case.

The psalmist has raised a legitimate complaint to God. After all, He gave some wonderful promises to the Israelites through Moses:

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. 2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:... “The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!. (Deut 28: 1-2, 7 - see verses 3-13 for the full list of blessings)

Yet, at the time the psalm was written, it felt like God's people were under a curse, even though they'd given themselves totally to obedience. It is right for the psalmist to wonder where everything went wrong, since, in his own words:

All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant. Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way; (vv 17-18)

Even when you've obeyed the Lord to the best of your ability, been truthful to Him and served Him faithfully, you may still find yourself under unwarranted, severe attack. The psalmist gives a reason for this:

Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. (v 22)

We have an enemy who hates us simply because we are God's children. According to the apostle Peter:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

We are sometimes attacked because we are followers of Christ. But as we recollect His past intervention on our behalf, and as we meditate on His word, we can conclude that:

1. He is watching over us;
   
2. He is very much in control:
3. He will not let us the enemy triumph over us,
4. We have the victory, and most important of all,
   
5. Nothing can separate us from His love.
   

This is the way Paul puts it:

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?...No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. (Romans 8: 35,37 NLT)

No matter how aggressive the enemy's attack against your life is today, rest in the knowledge that absolutely nothing can come between you and God's love in Christ Jesus. Draw from His strength within and look the enemy in the face; declaring that no weapon formed against you will prosper, greater is He in you than he that is in the world, and that you have overcome through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Then wait patiently for the Lord to bring you through to your manifest victory. Your joy awaits!

Psalm 44 Full Reading