27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end.
Psalm 107 is a beautiful chapter in the Psalms that exalt the mercy of God in sending circumstances into the lives of people to cause them to stop and think about the direction of their lives. People who are living their lives oblivious to God’s existence or are just not keeping Him where He belongs in their lives. God's proximity to us matters to Him.
God created us to be very close to Him. He created us to have an intimacy that not even marriage can fully appreciate or display, though it is used as illustrative (See Ephesians 5:25-32). Because of sin, our nearest and dearest is the one and only; Me, Myself, and I. We live life as if we are the center of the universe, and the sun, moon, and stars revolve around us. The is only one Center in the Bible’s story, and it’s not us. It is Christ.
Trials were inflicted to draw their hearts to the place where they “are at their wits’ end.” Is that where you’ve found yourself? The King James Translators put in the marginal notes on this phrase, at their wits’ end, as “All their wisdom is swallowed up.” Your wit is your ability to figure out how to navigate life’s troubles and trials. Are you at your wits’ end yet?
The verse that this phrase is found belongs to a passage of verses, Psalm 107:23-32. It describes those who “go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters” (v23). So we’re talking about mariners who get their living by hauling cargo. Then we see in verse 25, “he [that is, God] commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth the waves thereof.” Everything was going great. Suddenly, a mighty wind arises and causes them to “mount up to the heaven...go down again to the depths...[causing] their soul [to] melt because of trouble.” (v25-26)
It is God that brings them to their wits’ end. Why? Does God find humor in our calamities? Absolutely not. He cares enough about us to know that without Him, we are lost at sea, no matter how much money we make. There is nothing like our own prosperity that tends to spoil our souls.
The mariners are forced to cry out for help beyond themselves. Notice verse 28,
28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, And he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Its the cry of the soul that God is listening for. That is praise from the broken heart. In verse 29, “He maketh the storm a calm...” and in verse 30, “So he bringeth them unto their desired haven.”
A haven is ‘any place in which ships can be sheltered by the land from the force of tempests and a violent sea.’ That’s the truth of the matter. The world is under the curse, and we are in it. We only have one safe place, and that is in Christ. He is our “Haven of Rest.”
God is using this generation pandemic to awaken His children. The lost people are awakened, but they don’t know where to turn. They need to see in us not a form of religion but the form of Christ.
19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
Paul said that he travailed in birth again. The picture here is that of a woman having to give birth to the same child twice. Can you imagine ladies? That is what Paul is saying. He is saying that he led some people to the Lord that got saved, and they started living for God but then started getting cold in their walk with God because they were succumbing to the temptation of being religious but lacking devotion to Christ. They needed to allow Christ to be formed in them all over again. You know what they needed? Revival. Not the talk about it kind. But the real deal, where Christ actually becomes all in all. People need to see Jesus in us. That’s not just a saying.
Praising God at Wits' End
04/01/2020
Day 92: Praising God At Wit’s End
Psalm 107:27
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end.
Psalm 107 is a beautiful chapter in the Psalms that exalt the mercy of God in sending circumstances into the lives of people to cause them to stop and think about the direction of their lives. People who are living their lives oblivious to God’s existence or are just not keeping Him where He belongs in their lives. God's proximity to us matters to Him.
God created us to be very close to Him. He created us to have an intimacy that not even marriage can fully appreciate or display, though it is used as illustrative (See Ephesians 5:25-32). Because of sin, our nearest and dearest is the one and only; Me, Myself, and I. We live life as if we are the center of the universe, and the sun, moon, and stars revolve around us. The is only one Center in the Bible’s story, and it’s not us. It is Christ.
Trials were inflicted to draw their hearts to the place where they “are at their wits’ end.” Is that where you’ve found yourself? The King James Translators put in the marginal notes on this phrase, at their wits’ end, as “All their wisdom is swallowed up.” Your wit is your ability to figure out how to navigate life’s troubles and trials. Are you at your wits’ end yet?
The verse that this phrase is found belongs to a passage of verses, Psalm 107:23-32. It describes those who “go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters” (v23). So we’re talking about mariners who get their living by hauling cargo. Then we see in verse 25, “he [that is, God] commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth the waves thereof.” Everything was going great. Suddenly, a mighty wind arises and causes them to “mount up to the heaven...go down again to the depths...[causing] their soul [to] melt because of trouble.” (v25-26)
It is God that brings them to their wits’ end. Why? Does God find humor in our calamities? Absolutely not. He cares enough about us to know that without Him, we are lost at sea, no matter how much money we make. There is nothing like our own prosperity that tends to spoil our souls.
The mariners are forced to cry out for help beyond themselves. Notice verse 28,
Psalm 107:28
28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, And he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Its the cry of the soul that God is listening for. That is praise from the broken heart. In verse 29, “He maketh the storm a calm...” and in verse 30, “So he bringeth them unto their desired haven.”
A haven is ‘any place in which ships can be sheltered by the land from the force of tempests and a violent sea.’ That’s the truth of the matter. The world is under the curse, and we are in it. We only have one safe place, and that is in Christ. He is our “Haven of Rest.”
God is using this generation pandemic to awaken His children. The lost people are awakened, but they don’t know where to turn. They need to see in us not a form of religion but the form of Christ.
Galatians 4:19
19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
Paul said that he travailed in birth again. The picture here is that of a woman having to give birth to the same child twice. Can you imagine ladies? That is what Paul is saying. He is saying that he led some people to the Lord that got saved, and they started living for God but then started getting cold in their walk with God because they were succumbing to the temptation of being religious but lacking devotion to Christ. They needed to allow Christ to be formed in them all over again. You know what they needed? Revival. Not the talk about it kind. But the real deal, where Christ actually becomes all in all. People need to see Jesus in us. That’s not just a saying.