O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising up against me; many are saying of me, there is no help for him in God. But Thou, O Lord, art a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cry aloud to the Lord, and He answers me from His holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the Lord sustains me. I am not afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about. Arise O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! For Thou dost smite all my enemies of the cheek, Thou dost break the teeth of the wicked. Deliverance belongs to the Lord; Thy blessing be upon Thy people!
Psalm 3
We took a pause from the unit on Challenges to Faith to mark the Nativity season, with reflections on the Great Doxology. Having now concluded that unit, we will resume and finish the unit on Challenges to Faith.
Six Psalms are read at the beginning of each Orthros service and the first of the six is Psalm 3. Sometimes I wonder why the same six Psalms, and why this one in particular seems kind of like a downer. In reflecting on this Psalm, and now again on the challenges to faith, perhaps the reason this Psalm is read so often is related to our topic today, that it’s really hard to have faith when your peers don’t. In fact, not only do many of our peers not share our faith, but in many instances, they ridicule the faith and put us down for having or expressing faith.
One of the many reasons we belong to a Christian community is to be around people who share the same faith, and who ideally encourage one another to stay focused and consistent in it. The hope is that on the day when I’m not feeling strong about the faith, or am tempted, that others in the community will come and encourage me in my faith, and that in their moments of doubt and temptation, I will do the same for them.
It is also critical that we hear voices of encouragement on days other than Sundays. Lots of things can happen in a week, and the voices of encouragement that were heard on Sunday can be drowned out by complex events in a given week. That is why it is helpful to be engaged in a ministry that meets outside of Sunday, such as a Bible study, to give ourselves a chance to engagement and encouragement more frequently. It is important to make friends in a church community, to not only go to feel connected to Christ, but to connect with others as well. It is also important to talk about the faith with someone, to talk about why it’s hard but also why it’s rewarding. Hopefully, each Orthodox Christian has a personal relationship with a priest, and is comfortable talking about these challenges in the sacrament of confession, or just in conversation. However, the ratio of priest to parishioner doesn’t ‘make doing this often realistic. How wonderful it would be within a peer group to talk about challenges to faith, to both be validated that ones’ concerns are shared by others, and also to get ideas on how others maintain the vitality and confidence in the faith.
The story of Noah is told in the book of Genesis. There was a time when just about the entirety of society had moved itself away from God. And God decided to flood the world and start over again, sparing Noah and his family. God told Noah to build an ark that would hold his family and two of each species of animal. It took Noah a couple of years to build the ark. Noah did not live near water. Renderings of Noah building the ark show him building it in the middle of the forest, using wood from trees he had chopped down. People passed by and ridiculed Noah for following God’s directive to build an ark. Noah stayed the course and did as God asked him. When he was done, he entered the ark with his family and all the animals, and shut the door. Then the heavens opened and it rained for forty days and forty nights, flooding out the world and sparing Noah. Imagine the terror of the people as they saw the torrents of water coming. They must have looked at the ark, perhaps even started banging on the door to be let it. However, it was too late.
Faith is not easy. It is not easy to be building our “ark” (Christ-centered life) when people are ridiculing us, or doing other things. It is not easy to explain how we can be so faithful to the Lord, when many people are saying “this doesn’t make sense.” It’s hard to stay faithful to the Lord when He appears to be silent. Many of us are following the fires in California this week, and comments are being made “where is God now, to deliver His people and stop the flames?” Yet, we continue, hard as it may be at times, believing that there is an eternal reward at the end, and some reward while on the journey. Which is why it is critical for each of us, that we have voices of encouragement around us to keep us going when we are tempted to listen to the crowd, especially in the moments when we might actually think the crowd is right.
Psalm 3, on the surface, may seem like a Psalm of sadness. However, it is actually Psalm of empowerment— “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.” (Psalm 3:5) This line expresses deep faith. On those days when we lie down and sleep and wonder “where is God,” or “why is this so hard,” faith is the courage to wake again, and say “the Lord sustains me,” even when it feels like He doesn’t, or when we wonder why He chose a particular path for us. The Psalm concludes with the words “Deliverance belongs to the Lord,” (v. 8) it does not belong to the crowd. The composition of the crowd and its tone changes like the wind. The message of the Lord and His promises do not change. Faith is when we continue to believe despite the crowd. And an integral part of faith is having a crowd of peers around us who will keep encouraging us to stay faithful even when the larger crowd says otherwise.
Lord, it is hard to stay faithful to You. The “Crowd” today seems more and more set on pushing You to the side. As I am building my “ark” of faith, I feel the strain of the crowd staring. Sometimes I feel like I am missing out on what the crowd is doing, and in my hardest moments, I might even question my “ark.” Help me to stay steadfast in my faith, to keep building a Christ-centered life. Send me peers who will encourage my faith. Help me to be a good friend by encouraging faith in others. Amen.
Find people who will encourage you in your faith. Make intentional opportunities to encourage others in theirs.
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