Psalm 2 - God is in Control

1 Why do the nations conspire[a]

    and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth rise up

    and the rulers band together

    against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,

3 “Let us break their chains

    and throw off their shackles.”

4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;

    the Lord scoffs at them.

5 He rebukes them in his anger

    and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

6 “I have installed my king

    on Zion, my holy mountain.”

7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;

    today I have become your father.

8 Ask me,

    and I will make the nations your inheritance,

    the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You will break them with a rod of iron[b];

    you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;

    be warned, you rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fear

    and celebrate his rule with trembling.

12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry

    and your way will lead to your destruction,

for his wrath can flare up in a moment.

    Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

In Psalms 1, we were encouraged to take notice, adjust our attitude, and allow our choices to come from a place of good and helpfulness rather than from a place of selfishness that could potentially lead to destruction. We were asked to believe and trust God, pray and turn to Him no matter our circumstances. This first Psalm is pure truth and tells you flat out what will happen if you choose God and what will happen if you don't. We can also see that God also just wants us to turn to Him, so if we stray off the path He will be there to help us find our way back. As I continue to read on, I start to see some resemblances to how these words can be applied right now in today's world.

In Psalm 2, you get a sense of what it must look like from God's perspective and possibly the frustration He feels when the people He wants so strongly to choose Him, don't. When he knows that if they just do this one thing it will all be okay. As a mother, I get that frustration sometimes--and I expect even my four-year-old to respect me and trust me. So, why would I expect any different from God? God wants to let us know that He has it under control! We may not like everything we encounter on the path but we will thrive once we get through it. It's so hard to remember that. We want so badly for God to hear our side. That is what is so great about David as the Psalmist in the majority of these Psalms is that He is not afraid to put his cries out there to the Lord very raw and bluntly. He tells God when he's hurting and he also shares how he is showing his gratitude through all that he endures. He asks for direction, he shows us to wait, he shows complete and utter faith and obedience. David shows us how to fear God.

 I read somewhere that when the Bible notes the word "fear" -- it's all over the Bible to "fear God"...simply replace the word "fear" with "respect. It provides a whole new meaning and understanding. I like this way of looking at how this word is placed in the Bible. God wants our respect & yes we should fear being separated from Him when we make the choice that leads us away from Him, but with my whole heart and soul I can not and will not believe that he wants us to actually fear Him. See when I think of the word fear, I think of scary monsters hiding under the bed or in the dark closet getting ready to jump out and scare us silly. At times, God does present himself in this stern manner but he doesn't jump out to intentionally scare us...usually when he does that there should be no surprise that it's coming. God does a pretty good job of counting to three before He implements a consequence. When you replace the word "fear" with "respect" then, of course, God wants us to respect Him! Who doesn't want respect--especially when He's the one who made us? Don't we expect that much from the tiny humans we made?

God wants to lead us, but He knows by human nature, we time and time again choose to follow things we can see--so God makes it known in Psalm 2 that he's tired of the craziness going on between everyone. He sees his children fighting and arguing and just acting like fools. So he says, look you all need a leader. Someone who will make sure that you are led back to God. So He declares that He is in control and has appointed His own leader and those who choose to take this seriously and trust Him will be filled with the joy & peace he always intended for us.

There's a pretty popular quote from Woody Allen that goes like this “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” I pretty much think this quote applied here. Just like the kings of David's time, you may think you know that's best, that that plan is the best plan. God sees the way everything plays out and how it will be in the end. If it will ultimately lead to destruction then God will say NOPE! Plot twist--my turn! Let's try it my way! In the end, God wants us to simply trust Him and we will see joy.

So how can this be applied to life:
1. Know that God gets frustrated too.
2. God is in control.
3. Our leaders need our prayers; leaders in government, leaders in the church, leaders in the health system, agriculutural leaders, leaders in our homes, anyone who is leading a group of people need our prayers.

How do you fear (think respect) God in your daily life? When have you made the best plans only to see God tell you to wait, provide a detour or put up a roadblock? What good have you seen come out of your plans falling through? Right now, in this time during a pandemic, possibly the biggest intruption of plans of our time, how has being asked to stay home allowed you to open your eyes?

XoXoXo,
Sarah Mae