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Have you ever said to yourself…
- …I should have known better?
- …why I am going through this again?
- …I thought I was over this hurdle?
- …you would think I would have matured enough by now to not have to deal with this?
Maybe the author of Psalm 129 felt this way: “Here I am on the 10th step and I’m still having to deal with this! When will I finally arrive at the top and be done with these issues?” (compare Psalm 129:1-2 with 124:1-5).
(Check out all of the Scriptures I use in this post by clicking here.)
I think those statements—“I should have known better” or “I thought I was over this”—pre-suppose that we will reach a point in our life where we “arrive.” If nothing else, this psalm is a reminder that we are still on the journey, that we are still a work-in-progress, that the saint-ification process is still ongoing. It’s clear from Scripture that we never “arrive” until we arrive in Heaven and hear our Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
While we are ascending up toward our heavenly home, these great oppressions and plowings remind us that there is still work to be done in us and through us to bring glory to God (Romans 5:3-4; James 1:2-4, 12).
Of his Soviet prison, Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, “I bless you, prison—I bless you for being in my life—for there lying on rotting prison straw, I learned the object of life is not prospering as I had grown up believing, but the maturing of the soul.”
The reality is God is using all of those things for my good and for His glory (Romans 8:28).
What happens as I am oppressed and plowed?
(1) I am refined—Psalm 66:8-12, 16-20. God is removing the impurities from my life.
(2) My prayers are matured. Psalm 129:5-8 is an imprecatory prayer, a prayer that says, “Get ‘em, God!” These have their place, but for us they are to be our emergency release valve (which I discuss in more depth in my book When Sheep Bite). But Jesus calls for our prayers to mature from imprecatory to intercessory (Matthew 5:43-45). In my book I write, “This is the highest level of Christian maturity: To pray like Jesus did for those who insulted Him, slandered Him, and crucified Him, ‘Father, forgive them for they don’t understand what they are doing’ (Luke 23:34)”
(3) I develop more intimate God-dependence—2 Corinthians 1:8-10.
(4) I am better equipped to help others—2 Corinthians 1:3-6.
(5) Others feel more inclined to pray for me—2 Corinthians 1:7, 11.
“God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength.” —Vance Havner
Oppressed? Yes! Defeated? No!
Plowed? Yes! Enslaved by the plow’s cords? No!
God uses this to bring us closer and closer to Him until He can eventually say to us face-to-face, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” That’s when we truly arrive! Until then, we keep on ascending.
If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series looking at these songs of ascent, you can check them all out here.
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Craig T. Owens 