a new beginning begins here

As you read this psalm we discover that the psalmist is in distress.  He sings a dirge or we can say, he sings the blues.   

What is he distressed about?  The encompassing culture surrounding him is wearing him out. He says, deliver my soul from deceptive talk, lying lips, constantly barraged by those who criticize, condemn and are really only concerned about themselves... and it gets wearisome.  

There is something terribly wrong with our world.  Most of our life will not make sense unless we realize this to be true.  

Here is how I see it.  I live in a world at war, and it gets wearisome.  War is not only something that is “over there” but it is here — in the constant “babyish” bickering between political parties; in our rebellious culture rejecting God’s value on human life and his sacred design of marriage; in our churches where we come to feel good as our goal instead of coming together to offer our worship to the Holy One; in our marriages defined more by “me” instead of “we”.  

And then, when I am brutally honest, I discover that the war is not just out there but it is in here — in me!   The Apostle James says, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?  

Yes - We are a world at war — war is brutal, ugly, heart-breaking and ... it is wearying.    The psalmist has lived with and settled in too long with those who live in the tents of this darkness (tents of Kedar, Psalm 120:5).   So, he comes to the place of wanting a new beginning:  The starting point for this new beginning is — repentance.  

Genuine repentance is not just a turning over a new leaf or turing from some unrighteous behavior.  It goes deeper than that.  Repentance is not just correcting some bad attitude or wayward thinking. It goes deeper than that.  Repentance goes deep into the heart, where my war-filled heart is finally exposed for its deeply rooted selfishness and self-inflated view of itself.  It is where I am totally naked and exposed before the Holy “eye” of Him.  It is here, I surrender and lay down my weapons of selfishness and jealousy and choose to walk the path less traveled.  I choose follow the trail of Jesus Christ.  

He is the one who turns our dirge into a new song.  He puts our feet on solid ground making our footsteps firm and fills our heart with strength to face the day. So, this is where our journey begins.  If you agree with the psalmist, “woe is me ...too long has my soul had its dwelling with those who make hate peace, Psalm 120:5-6, then come on and together let’s follow His trail with these songs for the journey.