David asks “if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Many of us over last year(2020) and the previous months of 2021 have felt like “the foundations are being destroyed.” Of course, that is not an experience limited to the COVID-19 pandemic only —many of us endure dark times in our lives where we feel that the very things that have given our lives stability over years have been pulled out from us.
At the beginning of Psalm 11, he is actually paraphrasing a conversation with an imaginary advisor (or perhaps it is a record of a real conversation) who tells him that there is nothing left for him to do but to flee. The righteous are defeated, there is nothing you can do, David:
It is all over, this advisor tells him: “if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalms11:3). Yes, I know you are righteous David, but what you are facing is too tumultuous—just run and flee, there is nothing else you can do.
In response to this “helpful” advice, David does three things that I think are instructive for us.
1. Refuge in The Lord
As David faces crisis after crisis, he continues to trust. He is bold and sometimes uncomfortably direct with God, but he does not wane in his trust.
First, even though “the foundations are being destroyed,” David continues to “take refuge” in the Lord. This is something that is so striking as we read throughout the whole Psalter. As David faces crisis after crisis, he continues to trust. He is bold and sometimes uncomfortably direct with God but he does not wane in his trust.
In Psalm 11, this reflex comes from his unshakeable conviction that no matter what is happening—no matter that the “foundations are being shaken”—God is still in control: “He is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne”. In a world of chaos—of death, disease and disappointment—God is in control.
As Christians we can read the life of David, and meet someone who suffered; who did not live a comfortable middle-class life; who experienced such intense grief that it threatened to destroy him—but who went on trusting in God all the same. Amidst this pandemic, lockdown, financial stagnation, our trust in God should just escalate.
2. Testing Trials
Second, David understood the crisis he was going through as a period of testing or discipline—part of the process whereby the Lord “examines” or “disciplines” the righteous. David understood what the writer of Hebrews also knew: that discipline is a sign of the Lord’s love (Hebrews 12:6). Though it is painful, suffering “produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).
Difficult times are … well difficult. Faced with a choice we would rather go through easy and pleasant times. But armed with the conviction that the Lord will use them to work in us, we will begin to see the hand of the Lord in even difficult times.
3. The Relief of Judgment
Third, David remembers God’s judgment (Psalms 11: 5-6). These verses are confronting, as David states that while the LORD “tests the righteous,” “his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.” He understood that amidst crisis God does not entertain sin or wickedness as a compromise of the situation he was going through.
Here is a reminder that we should use times of crises (like now) to share the good news of Jesus. There is a day of judgment to come.
There is a day of judgment when the foundations of the world really will give way. As Christians, we are to live in the light of that day.
It is also a reminder that, as much as we might feel that our foundations are being destroyed, there is a day of judgment when the foundations of the world really will give way (2 Peter 3:12). As Christians, we are to live in the light of that day.
Further, David remembers that final day will be one when he and all the “upright” will see the LORD face to face (Psalms11:7). With long-distance travel impossible at the moment, we can all relate to the longing to see absent friends face to face. David points to an even greater longing—to see the Lord face to face.
I am sure there will be some great reunions when this current crisis is over (and it will end one day!) But for believers, there is a far more wonderful reunion to come (and it will come too!) when we are united with the Lord Jesus face to face.
Psalm 11 is a Psalm for our time. It is God’s word to us through the words of David. It shows us how to struggle-on and trust God in the midst of a crisis and tremendous difficulty. And, it points us to David’s greater descendant …
… the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2).
This moment is unlike anything that most of us have ever experienced. The tally of sick and deceased mounts higher every day.
We turn on the news or look out our windows to see empty streets and darkened buildings.
We are cut off from one another, passing our days in varying degrees of isolation. Worries about our health, finances, and the future we had planned dominate our thoughts.
Yet, in moments of crisis like the present, we may find ourselves wondering, "Where is God in all this?" It may feel to some that God is simply absent.
Although very few of us has ever experienced a situation like this one, generations before us have endured such trials and even greater than this. Their voices echo in our Christian tradition, offering us wisdom that can help us find God amidst the current crisis.
These pieces of wisdom are not "tips" in the sense of quick fixes. There is no quick fix for a global health crisis, nor for someone who has lost the sense of God's presence.
What follows are rather invitations to be transformed in the awareness and way of being we bring to the present moment. Nothing less will suffice.
4: Be on the lookout for the unexpected ways God might be working in the crisis.
So much of our fear and anxiety arises from reactive thinking. We obsess over the terrible things that could happen:
What if I or my loved ones get sick?
What if my business goes under?
What if the hospitals are overwhelmed?
We fixate on what we have lost — our routines, our plans, freedom of movement, maybe even our jobs. Imagining the good that might come out of our current situation comes less easily to us. Yet, when we look back through the history of God's dealings with humanity, we see that God has brought good forth from evil time and again.
When human beings turned against their Creator and all should have been lost, God responded with an even more gratuitous act of generosity by uniting Godself to humanity in the Incarnation and thereby drawing humanity into the very life of the Trinity.
Mindful of God's affinity for turning catastrophe into cause for celebration, we who find ourselves in the midst of a new catastrophe might take pause to ask ourselves,
"What unforeseen good might God bring out of this mess?" or "What if in this moment God is inviting me to…?"
5: Welcome this moment as a time of Sabbath rest.
COVID-19 has disrupted the business of the world and forced billions of people worldwide to step outside of their normal routines.
For many, this means that life has slowed down considerably. That many of us experience this slowing down as something uncomfortable should tell us something about how inhumane our lifestyles have become, how far we have strayed from God's vision for our lives.
After creating human beings, God rested and commanded that human beings, too, should rest on the seventh day. The implication seems to be that, if the Creator and Sustainer of the universe can afford to take a day off to appreciate His work, it is rather foolhardy of mere mortals to presume that they cannot afford to do likewise.
Now a Sabbath of sorts is being imposed upon us, who would not honor it of our own volition. Now we have no choice but to accept the truth that the Sabbath is intended to ingrain within us — our lives are not totally within our control. We cannot do it all. So rather than lamenting the current disruptions and the affront against our presumed omnipotence, we might welcome the opportunity to rest and to live more humanly as long as this crisis persists… and perhaps even beyond.
6: Refocus on what is most important in life.
Now, however, in the midst of a global slowdown, we may finally be able to hear Jesus' words to Martha as something intended for us: "you are worried and distracted by many things.
There is need of only one thing" (Lk 10:41). Jesus makes clear what is that "one necessary thing" earlier in the chapter (Lk 10:27), but it is worth mulling over for ourselves what is most important in life and whether our daily living actually reflects those priorities.
We might ask, "Have I chosen a life in which sending one more email takes priority over tucking my child into bed at night or chosen a bigger paycheck at the expense of my physical and mental wellness?" Life will be changed after this crisis.
That much is for sure. Whether or not it turns out to be a change for the better is somewhat dependent on our ability to reevaluate our priorities, make decisions, and form habits in line with what matters most.
7: Spend time with God in prayer.
Perhaps a global pandemic can do more than awaken us to the need to pray for a solution to the crisis. Perhaps it can bring us back to seeing the joy and peace that comes from simply resting with the Lord in prayer?
Church buildings are empty, but prayer closets can be full. Family altars can be established or renewed. We can help our churches pray for peace over fear, for patience over stressing.
We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God's wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there's nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before anything we do at all.
We see this in the early church, and God answered their prayers throughout the Book of Acts. Let’s be doing it again in our day.
8: Connect more deeply with the people in your life.
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of our current situation is the isolation many of us are enduring. The crowds that normally surround us in the office, on the train, and in coffee shops have now dispersed.
We are unable to visit with friends and family. Yet there may be an opportunity even in this. If it is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder, then perhaps this time of separation will engender in us a greater appreciation for the With fewer people and duties to make demands upon us, we have the freedom and the time to connect more deeply with the people who mean the most to us.
At the same time, we have the opportunity to reach out (by phone, Skype, handwritten letters) to those who are most in need and to be the face of God for those who are enduring the greatest suffering.
The pandemic has disrupted many aspects of our lives, but it has not and cannot prevent us from communicating love to one another. It may actually be providing us the opportunity and the motivation to let love abound all the more. What is certain above all else in this time when so much is uncertain is that "nothing can separate us from God's love" (Rom 8:38).
In summary
PSALM 11:1-3
In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain. For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
As David wrote this Psalm, his life was in danger. He was running away from King Saul who wanted to destroy him and his men. Similarly, in a time of pandemic, you may relate to this. You may feel a threat to the well-being of you and your loved ones’ safety. What did David do? He revealed his faith in God
PSALM 11:4-7
The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them. The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion. On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot. For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face.
He is confident that God is in heaven and He sees everyone and everything that is happening. And in the end David notes that the righteous – that is Christians like us – will see His face. The face of God implies salvation.
What do we do when the foundations are shaken?
=> We must first get the right view of God and make a commitment to Him
In John 6:68 – Jesus had taught heavy doctrine about his body and blood and the crowds started distancing themselves from Him. He asked his disciples whether they too wanted to leave. But Peter answered – Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
=> We should not flee from the battle but we are called to stand for what we Christians believe.
In 2 Timothy,the Bible talks about the end times. That scripture says: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people
=>We should refuse to give in to anxiety or fear of the unknown but be confident in the Lord’s presence. He is on the throne, He is in control and is aware of everything that is happening.
In the book of Isaiah 6:1, he says ” I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple”
- Have courage to face the fact that foundations are shaking. The pandemic is here and it will affect us all directly or indirectly.
- Have a determination to move forward – having unmovable faith in God’s ability to see us through it.
- Have a positive attitude to declare the Lord remains God no matter what.
