"THEY NEVER COULD KEEP ME DOWN" Psalm 129:1-8
Verse 2 " They have kicked me ever since I was young" -this is how Israel tells it- "They have kicked me around ever since I was young, but they never could keep me down".
The people of God are tough. For long centuries those who belong to the world have waged war against the way of faith, and they are yet to win. They have tried everything, but none of it has worked. They have tried persecution and ridicule, torture and exile, but the way of faith has continued healthy and robust.
God's people have always had many enemies. Think about the Egyptian slavery, the Philistines, Amalekites, Midianites, Ammonites, Hittites, Moabites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, the Greek Empire, Roman Empire, the Herod family and the list is endless. Thus the people of God tell it, They have kicked me around ever since I was young but never could keep me down.
The cornerstone sentence of Psalm 129 is "God sticks with us". That He sticks with us is the reason Christians can look back over a long life crisscrossed with cruelties, unannounced tragedies, unexpected setbacks, sufferings, disappointments, betrayal, depressions, - look back across all that and see it as a road of blessing. God sticks to His relationship. Perseverance is not the result of our determination, it is the result of God's faithfulness.
We survive not because we have extraordinary stamina but because God is righteous and He sticks with us. Take a look at the pilgrim road and see where you have come from and where you are going. They have kicked you around ever since you were young but they never could keep you down. You will not remain in that valley. You will not continue crying. A mountain top experience is coming your way. You are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.
Think about the Heroes and Heroines of faith in Hebrews 11. Never quit. Troubled but not destroyed, perplexed but not in despair. To God be the glory (some notes from Eugene H Peterson)
Rev B Chinhara
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