Rise Up O Lord

 Psalms 9:9-20, Mark 4:35-41

This psalm of David shows his great faith in God being a stronghold in times of trouble. He is assured that God does not forget the cry of the afflicted. So, he pours his heart out about his suffering and that God would lift him from the gates of death assured that in God’s deliverance he will again rejoice. Now this is the grown-up boy who once faced the giant Goliath and God delivered. So, he has faith that the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever. Having this faith he says, “Rise Up O Lord. Don’t let the mortals prevail.”

In our Mark account the disciples are on a boat with Christ who is asleep. Jesus has had a long day of speaking to crowds that he is so tired he sleeps through the storm that comes. Now the disciples, however, are panicked and instead of having the faith of the Psalmist of a Psalm they could have possibly grown up with and sung, they wake up Jesus. Instead of saying, “Rise up and conquer,” they complain, “Don’t you care that we are perishing?” So when the Lord does arise from sleep and rebukes the wind and tells the sea to be silent, and the storm goes away he says to them, “Why were you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” After all Jesus has been teaching they still do not recognize his divinity. Instead of being thankful and comforted they are filled with fear, “who then is this that even the sea and wind obey him?”

When we experience the storms of life are we confident that the Lord will pull us through – be our stronghold? Then when we arrive at the other side of our troubles – survive them – do we thank God or do we worry about what other storms may come our way? Do we have the faith of the Psalmist that God will overcome? Are we confident when we cry out, “Rise Up O Lord” If we feel like God has been sleeping, ignoring our cries do we shout – “Wake up O Lord! Save me!”

Do we have the faith that God doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted? That the afflicted and oppressed are always in God’s sight and God’s care. We need to have the faith of David that knows he can beg the Lord in verse 13 when he says, “Be gracious to me O God and deliver me from my enemies?” Yet in the midst of all our troubles hold on to the faith that God will prevail over worldly forces bringing relief for the needy and poor.

Let us cling to our faith in the stronghold of God who will calm any troubled storms that come our way. May we shout, “Rise up O Lord and calm our fears!” knowing God is our stronghold. Amen.

 

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