Psalm 93

There is a great battle raging, but it is not always clear that the church is aware of it.

The Apostle Paul understood this battle, and he used suffering as a gift from God to fight the good fight of faith. Listen to the seriousness of what he wrote in Romans and Galatians:

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:11-14)

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:16-24)

We want what we want so badly that we do not recognize that we are allowing ourselves to be ruled by various passions. If we remember that God is in charge, and that He is working all things for our good and His glory, could it be that our sufferings now are weapons to aid us in putting to death our various eager desires of the flesh that are actually crippling our walk in the Spirit?

That's a long introduction to Psalm 93.

When you received the worst news of your life, the opening words of this psalm were still true: “The Lord reigns.”

How are we to understand the brutality of murderous attacks against the people of God? How can we fathom the disappointment of earnest prayers that do not seem to achieve what we want? I don't know. But I know that the cross of Christ speaks the most powerful word of divine love known to man, and that we are called to be suffering servants who follow the One Suffering Servant.

And I know this: “The Lord reigns.”

The majestic Creator of life who works out all things according to the counsel of His will, for His eternal purpose, for the glory of His Name, loves you. He has never been pushed off His throne. But He did willingly come from heaven to earth to save you through suffering love and to teach you to follow Him in suffering love. He knows about the battle of the ages, and your part in that battle, and He wants you to put to death the deeds of the flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit. See Romans 8:13 and Colossians 3:5.

There is a Psalm 93 flood of evil that is lifted up against the Lord and His people, But the Lord who suffered for us walked on water. He is mightier than the raging sea of enemies inside us and outside us.

The Lord reigns. His decrees are sure. He has decreed not only that you would have eternal life, but that you would be holy. Those who will only be ruled by their eager desires, whether for food or fame, will be of very little use in the formidable battle in front of the church in this present hour. They will do more damage than good. They will have an appearance of godliness, but deny the power. Such people must be avoided. See 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

Listen to how Psalm 93 ends. “Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, forevermore.”

God is serious about holiness. Your eager worldly desires are not your friends in the battle for holiness. It is not safe to make any provision for them.

And suffering? Suffering is not God's punishment for your sin. Christ took that on the cross.

Suffering is a gift of God, a loving discipline for you from the One who reigns over all things. It is weapon for you in a battle that the Lord will win in you and through you. It is a weapon for good in the hands of faith. And that is why Paul says this about suffering in Romans 5:

We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

(Romans 5:3-5)