THE TURNING

PSALM 85

Introduction

Albert knew that he was not what he used to be. Oh, there was no immediate crisis: the doctor said he was in great health, but then added those most detested of all words, “for your age.” Albert knew that his reactions, his hearing, his eyesight, his memory, his muscle tone, his agility, his good looks, his aerobic conditioning, his digestive processes, and a lot more were not what they used to be. So what did he used to be? That is what really bothered Albert. He had been a pretty good husband, a pretty good father, a pretty good provider, a pretty good neighbor, even a pretty good church member. But, looking back, pretty good didn’t seem to add up to much. Albert really wanted to know that his life had counted for something worthwhile, had made a lasting difference for the better somewhere beyond his comfortable little circles of family and friends. Recently Albert had heard a sermon on, “In the Lord your labor is not in vain.” Albert had heard more than the preacher said that morning. He had heard the voice of God asking, “Albert, what labor in the Lord have you really done?” Albert was feeling out of synch with the big picture, with the God-dimension to life. He could not see what God was doing in his life.

Question

What do we do when our lives are out of synch:

when we cannot get moving toward worthy goals in our lives,
when we are stuck in frustration or boredom or emptiness, or
when we are mired in depression and malaise, or
when it seems that God has turned his back on us, is not hearing us, is not answering us, is not comforting and blessing us?

What do we do when our lives are out of synch? I do not intend to offer pat answers. Every situation is individual, and so is every solution. What I intend to do is simply to observe how one small psalm can make a difference. What does Psalm 85 suggest? I find four suggestions.

1. We Remember Gratefully

The psalmist begins by remembering what God has done in the past: [Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger. Psalm 85:1-3 (ESV)] What do we do when our lives are out of synch? We remember gratefully.

We remember gratefully through the testimony of scripture. The Bible records the mighty deeds of God, by which he has already delivered his people out of bondage and will yet deliver his people into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We remember gratefully through worship. Prayers and hymns of thanksgiving and praise are especially important in strengthening our spiritual lives. Consider the remembering we do when we see a baptism performed and renew our own baptismal vows, continually being transformed as we are crucified and resurrected with Jesus, dying to sin and being raised to walk in newness of life. Consider the remembering we do when we share the Lord’s Supper, where we may recite in solid hope: “Christ has died! Christ is risen! Christ will come again!” In that message, we find hope for our lives.
We remember gratefully through human experience. I love reading, watching, hearing, and telling true stories of faith. Whether it is a book, a rare Christian movie, or a personal experience of what God has done, it can move us into deeper trust of God’s goodness and deeper courage to live out our faithful witness.
We remember gratefully, and in doing so, we are encouraged about what God is now doing and will yet do. We get God’s perspective on things. We begin to see things we otherwise would have missed.

2. We Ask Honestly

Once the memories were in place, the psalmist prayed that most famous of all prayers, “Help me! Help me! Help me!” or, worded a little more artistically: [Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us! Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations? Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. Psalm 85:4-7(ESV)] What do we do when our lives are out of synch? We ask honestly.

We ask honestly. All through the Bible God honored people like Job (Why won’t you give my case a hearing? Come down and face me like a man!), Moses (Why have you laid on me the burden of leading this people? If I find favor in your sight, just kill me now and get it over with!), Elijah (Take away my life; for I, only I, am left to be faithful.), Jeremiah (Lord, you have deceived me; you have made me a laughingstock. Woe is me that my mother bore me!”), Jimmy Stewart in “It’s a Wonderful Life,”—oh, that wasn’t in the Bible, was it? Job, Moses, Elijah, and Jeremiah all had it partly wrong in the way they were seeing things, but they were honestly wrong; they let it all hang out directly to God, and this gave God a chance to correct their perspective. The people God did not honor were people who pretended to have answers they didn’t have, and people who sulked and walked away from God, grumbling under their breath. God is big enough to take our honesty, and he prefers it because it makes room for growth.

We ask honestly. God is pleased when we ask, because he wants us to know from whom the answer came. If we are not in a situation in which we must depend daily on the Lord’s answers to our prayers, we are not taking enough risks to live according to God’s will. He wants us to ask, because he wants his answers to be seen. Jesus says that God will give good things, like the Holy Spirit, to those who ask, seek, and knock. God wants to give us all manner of good things, but the very best things, that he wants us to seek first, are his presence, his reigning power, and his righteousness. The other things will follow.

3. We Listen Pereceptively

After asking honestly, the psalmist pauses to listen for God’s answer: [Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Psalm 85:8 (ESV)] What do we do when our lives are out of synch? We listen perceptively.

We listen perceptively to God’s promises and guidance in scripture. God promises that when we call, he will answer, that when we ask in keeping with the name and character of Jesus, the answer will come, that when we venture forth to do what he calls us to do, he will provide all that is truly needed when it is needed.
We listen perceptively to what the Holy Spirit speaks to our own hearts and minds and through the spiritual gifts that operate through our fellow believers. The Holy Spirit will nudge us, whisper to us, and occasionally yell at us, to guide us into the path of blessing.
Whether the message comes through us or others, we listen perceptively, discerning what is from God and what is not. Most centrally, we ask, “Does this fit with what we know of God through Jesus Christ?” If it fits, we follow.

4. We Turn to Walk Hopefully

When the psalmist listens, here is what he hears. [Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky. Yes, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way (Psalm 85:9-13)] What do we do when our lives are out of synch? We turn to walk hopefully.

We turn to walk hopefully. One Hebrew word used five times in Psalm 85 most basically means turn. It may be translated restore, return, repent, and more. Psalm 85 is about God’s turning to his people as they turn to him. Psalm 85 requests that God turn to restore them, but this requires their turning, their repenting. Repenting is about more than feeling sorry for our sins. Repenting is hearing the good news of God and orienting our whole lives around it. We need to turn toward what God is doing.
Jesus commanded, “Seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness.” Paul commanded, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Both are talking about the repenting, the turning, we must do if we are to join with what God is doing.
Psalm 85 tells us what it looks like when we turn and join what God is doing: God’s steadfast love and truth, God’s righteousness and peace will come together and operate in harmony. The soft-love side of God and the tough-love side of God can come together only when we are letting God’s character shape our lives.
The basis of our hope has been established as the soft-love and tough-love of God have come together in the saving work of Jesus Christ and in the building up of the body of Christ for redemptive mission and fellowship in the world. God’s steadfast love and truth, his righteousness and peace, meet and actively redeem out-of-synch people. We must orient by that hope.
We turn to walk hopefully on the path with Jesus. Today, Jesus comes to each one of us by means of the Holy Spirit, and he calls us to walk with him on the path of hope, hope for ourselves to be sure, but also hope for others. It does not matter how out of synch our lives have been. Jesus will come to heal the broken and hurting places in our lives, and he will fill the empty and aching places with his love, if we will heed him and walk with him on the path to a glorious future.

Conclusion

So what is poor out-of-synch Albert doing today? I don’t know. I made him and his problem up. I didn’t make up his solution. Perhaps Albert remembered gratefully. Perhaps Albert asked honestly. Perhaps Albert listened perceptively. Perhaps Albert turned to walk hopefully. If he did those things, my guess is that the fulfillment began to emerge in his life.

I would guess that Albert discovered that God does not ever say those hated words, “for your age.” I believe that God gave Albert something he could do, something uniquely suited to Albert, but something that calls Albert daily beyond himself, beyond his previous experience, beyond his present resources, beyond his comfort zone—because God wants Albert to have the joy of living adventurously and meaningfully with every breath he draws.

Perhaps Albert is reading the scriptures with an eye to recognizing what God is doing, so that he can join with God and show forth God’s glory in the course of his daily life. Perhaps Albert is praying in ways that make God a part of his own character 24/7, so that he will recognize the divine appointments that pop up regularly for those who are prepared. Perhaps Albert is managing his finances so that he can support significant missions in the world. Perhaps Albert is mentoring a troubled young person who needs a guiding hand. Perhaps Albert is working in a food pantry or a soup kitchen that is feeding hungry people. Whatever Albert is doing, if he is doing it with God, he is learning, and he is not feeling that his life is empty.

You are welcome to use our resources in your work for Jesus. You may use them without charge so long as you are not charging others for the use to which you put them. We ask that you give published credit to the author and to www.Christviewmin.org for any such uses and that you leave the copyright notice attached. If you find material on this site helpful, please consider supporting Christview Ministries through donations and by buying resources from our Christview Ministries Store.

Bible Study