Sometimes (ie: often) I believe the lie that I am the one that controls my life (ie: the world) and become frustrated, confused and discouraged when things don’t go the right way (ie: my way).
The Israelites may have had their own struggles with obedience and trusting God but they did recognize God as God - at least, they do in this Psalm.
“Restore us, O Lord
let your face shine, that we may be saved.”
In order to cry out like this, one must believe that the one whom you’re crying out to has the power to not only answer but rescue. We can tell that the Israelites believed God was their only hope. We also see a connection to the blessing they received from Aaron generations before in Numbers 6:25.
“The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”
They knew where they fit in this story too - as ones dependent on the Lord and as recipients of His goodness. They had experienced these gifts. They saw God prepare a way for them out of Egypt, create a space for them to flourish, protect them from harm, and equip them to be a blessing to others.
These experiences made it all the more confusing when they encountered the broken down walls of Jerusalem and other nations taking advantage of them. They saw all of this as a reversal of the way things should be - of who they knew themselves to be as God’s people - of how the Kingdom of God was supposed to work.
I find myself thinking the same things when I hear of cancer diagnoses, miscarriages, false accusations, sexual abuse/assault, and good friends moving away.
O Lord, this is NOT how it should be.
“Restore us O Lord
Let your face shine upon us
That we may be saved.”
And in that cry I’m back where I belong - dependent on Him - the Giver of all good gifts - the one who is able to restore.
The psalm later states,
“But let your hand be on the [wo]man of
your right hand,
the son [daughter] of man whom you have
made strong for yourself”
As God’s people this is us - being made strong for God’s glory. This advent season we are invited to find hope in the fact that God sent His Son into a world full of things not as they should be in order to restore us back to who He created us to be. He is at work in us and around us. Let’s remember that He is the one that makes things right - not us, and He had a plan from the very beginning to do just that.
Until then...
“Restore us O Lord
Let your face shin upon us
That we may be saved.”
-- Emily Larzabal