I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies. ...
The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
Psalm 18:3, 46
The past couple of days, I've been meditating on Psalm 18. It is truly a tour de force! The verses above are well known, and there is even a worship song based on them that I remember singing at summer camp. (Shared below, check it out.)
The psalms are full of imagery about 'enemies.' When you read these lines, what do you think of? Who are your 'enemies'? Perhaps you think of people who have wronged you in the past. Or people in your family with whom you are in conflict. If you have served in the military, perhaps you think of literal enemies in combat or foreign policy.
I think these answers can all be correct – even as we know that Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies, and to love them.
But there is another way to think about the 'enemies' spoken of in the Psalms. They are the fears, anxieties, sins, faults, vices, worries, and pains that hold us back. The things that keep us up at night. The things that the devil uses when whispering in our ears, "You will never get over this... you will never get to where you want to be."
Every person – rich or poor, male or female, black or white or brown, young or old – has 'enemies' like this; internal struggles that they wish could be vanquished.
What does the Bible say? It says that God has the power to deliver us from our enemies. We may need to make some changes; to step out in trust; or to take some responsibility. But God is the Rock. Nothing surprises Him. We are to call upon the Lord for help.
Of course, deliverance does not always come in the way we want, or in the desired time frame. But I bet that if you look over your life and the struggles that you have faced, you can say, "Wow, God eventually delivered me from that enemy."
He can do it again. Remember, you are a work in progress. And in God's eyes, a masterpiece.
God bless you!
Fr. Matthew
