This begins a new journey in the healing of the heart. Several PTSD confidential groups meet on line daily for encouragement, prayer, and healing. The participants read the passion narrative of Jesus in John 12-21 and reflect on Bessel Vanderkolk’s book, The Body Keeps the Score. These are amazing groups of healing people. I am adding one more dimension to this healing work, a daily meditation from the Psalms. Did you know that 1/3 of the Psalms touch King David’s trauma of family, work, and sin? In the comment section below I will write one reflection per day. Love your input.
Hope Experience
Rev. Glen Maiden PhD, DMin, LMHC, CSAT, CMAT, CST, ANFT
Hope Experience 
Day One only 364 more to go. We're looking at the Psalms as God's compassion for King David's trauma. Creating a new word for our work, Psalmatic. This term is the combination of the word Psalm with the word trauma as in traumatic. I am categorizing the Psalms into thirds: Pre Psalmatic, Psalmatic, and post Psalmatic traumas. Pre Psalmatic connects to the upswing of David's life, you know the good old days. Psalmatic touches David's pain and struggle rangingfrom the attempted assassination by Absalom his son, the murderous rage of his father in law King, the terror of war, and David's own trauma of adultery and murder. Post Psalmatic traumas speak to the resolution and redemption of David's pain by God. Are you ready?
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Book one (Psalms 1–41)
Psalm 1
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.
4 But not the wicked!
They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
Sinners will have no place among the godly.
6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.
First, let's start with God's presence in this Pre Psalmatic verse. The Lord watches over, the word in Hebrew is yada, to know intimately, emotionally, cognitively, spiritually, and physically. God knows us before the traumas. He is present and attentive before our pain. The connective follower meditates reflects on the law, the character, the heart of God day and night. Alexithymia is the inability to meditate, reflect upon, or connect our pain with God's presence and healing. Read this Psalm again and drink in the words. Can you connect God's compassionate presence in your life before the struggle? Take a few moments and thank God for being with you and knowing you before the trauma. He knows you, all of you.
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Day Two only 363 more to go. Look at verse one,”Oh the joy of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord meditating on it day and night.” Joy and delight connect with the law, the character and compassion of God day and night. Life is not all trauma. David's story painted a picture of titanic tragedy. David's father in law boss attempted to kill him repeatedly, his son tried to overthrow and execute him, and the child by his adulterous lover whose husband he assassinated died a premature death. Grief, hatred, abandonment, death, persecution touched David. In this Psalm he speaks of the God who knows him intimately and compassionately. God gives David a framework of sanity to organize impending chaos. God blesses David with joy and delight. The Lord watches our way, in Hebrew derek. He sees our path of trauma. He is with us. He Knows and cares. Copy,paste , and print the Arousal Template from the blog. Can you make a timeline of your trauma? Can you include the presence of God, His intimate knowledge of each event pre Psalmatic, that is before the trauma?
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Day Three only 362 more to go. Jesus is mindful of our hurt. Look at Isaiah 53 with me. Isaiah 53New Living Translation (NLT)
53 Who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
2 My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him.
3 He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows[a] that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.
7 He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.[b]
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.[c]
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
9 He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man’s grave.
10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.
Don't write much today. Meditate on the intimacy of Jesus and our suffering. He knows our trauma. He sees our way of hurt. He knows and is with you. More, he bore my sins and interceded for me, the rebel.
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Day Four only 361 more days to go. Think and pray with me about our way of pain. Look at Psalm 1:6, “The Lord watches over the way of the Godly.” When we put this passage in the context of pre Psalmatic, that is the season of life before David's suffering, can you see the intimacy of God in our pain? He knows, understands, feels compassion, is touched by our way of suffering. Allow the words of Isaiah 53 to speak to your pain,
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows[a] that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.
The Lord is near. He is sees our way of suffering. Jesus carries our weakness as a parent holds a child near. Jesus feels the weight of my weakness. Jesus knew suffering so I can be healed, so you can be whole. Jesus takes on my shame and guilt into His own body. Before the trauma, God began the healing work. Today can you become aware of the way of pain in you? Do you have the ability to speak the words and invite Jesus into the healing journey? He loves you. Your heart matters. Your pain touches the compassion of God.
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Day Five only 360 more days to go. Are you becoming aware, mindful, of His presence and understanding of your way of suffering before the trauma? Do you see that Jesus prepared the path of healing for you before the first assault, the bullet, the closed fist, the betrayal? He is with you. Jesus was beaten so we could be whole, Isaiah 53:5. On the blog http://www.glenmaiden.com copy, paste, and print the table graphic. Can you make a timeline of your “way” of pain? Invite Jesus into the story. He knows, He is healing. Ask. Connect. Now, reflect with your intimate friends. Speak the words of your pain.
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Day 6 we have broken 360 days to go. 359 to be exact. Look at Psalm 2. Psalm 2New Living Translation (NLT)
Psalm 2
1 Why are the nations so angry?
Why do they waste their time with futile plans?
2 The kings of the earth prepare for battle;
the rulers plot together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.
3 “Let us break their chains,” they cry,
“and free ourselves from slavery to God.”
4 But the one who rules in heaven laughs.
The Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then in anger he rebukes them,
terrifying them with his fierce fury.
6 For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne
in Jerusalem,[a] on my holy mountain.”
7 The king proclaims the Lord’s decree:
“The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son.[b]
Today I have become your Father.[c]
8 Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,
the whole earth as your possession.
9 You will break[d] them with an iron rod
and smash them like clay pots.’”
10 Now then, you kings, act wisely!
Be warned, you rulers of the earth!
11 Serve the Lord with reverent fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Submit to God’s royal son,[e] or he will become angry,
and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities—
for his anger flares up in an instant.
But what joy for all who take refuge in him!
This is a pre Psalmatic passage, before the trauma of war. This sounds intense to me. What do you think? Is David anticipating war? God knows the way of suffering for David. He exclaims that the one who takes refuge in the Lord experience transcendent joy. What does it mean to take refuge in the Lord?
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Day 7 358 more days to go. When faced with the trauma of war, anxiety escalates. The soldier dehumanizes the enemy so he can do what he must to kill. Compassion is lost. To connect to our way of suffering and pain, we must practice compassion. Look at the words of Jesus. Luke 6:27-36New Living Translation (NLT)
Love for Enemies
27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
32 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.
Practicing compassion by loving our enemies creates a world in which enemies do not exist. For the follower of Jesus we have no enemies. We have only compassion. The power of trauma diminishes when we have no object of hatred. What remains is the tender compassion of Jesus. Can you practice compassion for yourself? For your enemies? Be this.
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Day 8. 357 more to go. Psalm 3 is a Psalmatic passage, that is, in the maelstrom of heartbreak. Psalm 3New Living Translation (NLT)
Psalm 3
A psalm of David, regarding the time David fled from his son Absalom.
1 O Lord, I have so many enemies;
so many are against me.
2 So many are saying,
“God will never rescue him!” Interlude[a]
3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me;
you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
4 I cried out to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy mountain. Interlude
5 I lay down and slept,
yet I woke up in safety,
for the Lord was watching over me.
6 I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies
who surround me on every side.
7 Arise, O Lord!
Rescue me, my God!
Slap all my enemies in the face!
Shatter the teeth of the wicked!
8 Victory comes from you, O Lord.
May you bless your people. Interlude
The enemy conspiring to kill David, is his own son, Absalom. The name is formed from two Hebrew words, Ab-father, and salom-peace. My father of peace has conspired and raised an army to execute David, his father, take over the kingdom, economy, politics, and ultimately obliterate David's legacy. I cannot fathom the depth of David's despair. So, David the fugitive, writes a song, not assailing his son, but exalting God. The Lord is David's shield and glory watching David in his trauma. This is similar to Psalm 1, God knows the way of suffering for David. God knows, shields, and watches David's most intimate hurt.
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Day 9. 356 more to go. Print off the table graph from the Glog website. Write out the major traumas of your life like David does in the Psalms. For him it was war, a son who hated him and tried to murder his own father, the loss of respect, and more. Now, bring those traumas into the white oval. Make an embryo, a circle, for each trauma you brought down from the timeline. Reflect on each one. Pray through the eggs. Ask God to be your shelter, your refuge, your strength. Now reflect on Isaiah 53 again. Jesus' trauma became transformational, transcendent over the sin of suffering of mankind. Jesus' trauma is our shield, our shelter, our refuge, our strength. What will God do with your suffering?
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Day 10. 355 to go. God knows my way of suffering. As He watches, God is my shield and refuge. He has not lost control in my life, He is guiding the events of my trauma to a transformation. His will is the transformation. The results of my pain become His will. He has crafted my life. He has a map of my pain. He leads me to His plan with my pain, never without it. Are you at His will yet? Can you pray about it, for the will of God? I love David's words, “I am not afraid”. David says this in the context of his son's attempted coup to take his father's life. “I am not afraid.” Psalm 3.6. What do you fear? Why?
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Day 12. Only 353 to go. Let's look at David's timeline of trauma based on the first 4 Psalms. David is confident that God knows the path of suffering David would take. David writes of enemies and politics. He grieves through his son's violation against him. And in Chapter 4 David reflects on the trauma of personal integrity under attack. Look at the words of David in his trauma, God knows the way, David meditates, grieves,reflects on God's heart and character during the traumas, God is shield and refuge, in this pain David finds joy. Can you look at your trauma timeline. Do you see that God knows your way of suffering? Can you connect to His character of love and tenderness?
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Day 11. 354 to go. Questions of personal integrity are the deepest violation. Look at Psalm 4:
Psalm 4New Living Translation (NLT)
Psalm 4
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.
1 Answer me when I call to you,
O God who declares me innocent.
Free me from my troubles.
Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2 How long will you people ruin my reputation?
How long will you make groundless accusations?
How long will you continue your lies? Interlude
3 You can be sure of this:
The Lord set apart the godly for himself.
The Lord will answer when I call to him.
4 Don’t sin by letting anger control you.
Think about it overnight and remain silent. Interlude
5 Offer sacrifices in the right spirit,
and trust the Lord.
6 Many people say, “Who will show us better times?”
Let your face smile on us, Lord.
7 You have given me greater joy
than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.
8 In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.
When has your integrity been questioned? Can you talk about it. Journal the trauma? Sit in this moment. Are you angry still? David does not say “don't be angry”. David says, “Don't let anger control you” when your integrity is attacked. It's ok to be angry, Paul will say “Be angry but don't sin.” David tells us to rest and reflect. Allow the anxiety to diminish before responding. Joy comes from the Lord. He alone brings peace and saves. Jesus permitted God to defend His integrity. Jesus was silent in the face of accusation. He allowed God to be His peace. Not people nor their opinions.
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Psalm 5New Living Translation (NLT)
Psalm 5
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by the flute.
1 O Lord, hear me as I pray;
pay attention to my groaning.
2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for I pray to no one but you.
3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
4 O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness;
you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.
5 Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence,
for you hate all who do evil.
6 You will destroy those who tell lies.
The Lord detests murderers and deceivers.
7 Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house;
I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.
8 Lead me in the right path, O Lord,
or my enemies will conquer me.
Make your way plain for me to follow.
9 My enemies cannot speak a truthful word.
Their deepest desire is to destroy others.
Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with flattery.[a]
10 O God, declare them guilty.
Let them be caught in their own traps.
Drive them away because of their many sins,
for they have rebelled against you.
11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them sing joyful praises forever.
Spread your protection over them,
that all who love your name may be filled with joy.
12 For you bless the godly, O Lord;
you surround them with your shield of love.
David is still assaulted by enemies. I have enemies. Do you? David does not begin with an attack against his haters. David begins with prayer. David worships, gives thanks. His framework for trauma is the loving and kindness of God. David asks to know God's way. Put this in context of Psalm 1 and this way David speaks of is his trauma timeline. Do you know and understand the power of God in your hurt and pain? Pray. Ask Him. Can you make the framework of your pain His goodness and grace?
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Day 14. 351 to go. I tend to resent my haters. Resentment fuels my trauma taking the pain deeper. Can you let your resentment go to God? Can you allow Him to bring justice? Can you allow the tender compassions of Jesus to be the framework for your pain?
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Day 14. 351 to go. The writer of Hebrews says, “Pursue peace with all, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord, watching lest someone miss the grace of God, lest some root of bitterness grow upward and cause trouble, and through it many are defiled (by bitterness)” Hebrews 12:14-15 GNT. Next he illustrates Esau who lived from bitterness because of his brother's betrayal. Overcome by betrayal, Esau's bitterness controlled his life. Can we be thankful to God when the haters hate? The cheaters? The liars? I am not grateful for the pain, I have gratitude that God knows my way of suffering. He is my shield, He is my refuge and peace.
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Day 15 350 days to go. We live in a diagnostic culture. Messed up? Google it. You can download literally millions of articles on trauma. There is a place for diagnostics. Be careful. The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Romans 1:16. The diagnosis of God for mankind? Broken beyond human repair. The treatment plan? Jesus healing the hurt within. This healing comes through believing in Jesus, loving His compassion, following His way of suffering. Ease up on the diagnostic vocab. Enter into relationship with Jesus, pray, surrender, give Him permission to heal.
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We tend to perform our faith. Performance mentality is a trap. Work for your pay, work for your salvation, right? Wrong. We enter through faith in Jesus, belief. The faux faith of performance drives one to do, do, do. The more you do, the more right you are. Wrong. Look at Psalm 6. Think about belief, surrender, enter in…don't perform into this Psalm. David is praying through a Psalmatic event. He is in the midst of trauma and pain. Read it out loud and connect to the pain within. Be compassionate. Read.
Psalm 6New Living Translation (NLT)
Psalm 6
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument.[a]
1 O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your rage.
2 Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak.
Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
3 I am sick at heart.
How long, O Lord, until you restore me?
4 Return, O Lord, and rescue me.
Save me because of your unfailing love.
5 For the dead do not remember you.
Who can praise you from the grave?[b]
6 I am worn out from sobbing.
All night I flood my bed with weeping,
drenching it with my tears.
7 My vision is blurred by grief;
my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.
8 Go away, all you who do evil,
for the Lord has heard my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord will answer my prayer.
10 May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified.
May they suddenly turn back in shame.
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Day 17. 348 to go. Psalm 6. David has messed up…again. Is this the tragedy with his son David speaks of? Look at his traumatic response to pain, “I am weak, my bones agonize, my heart is sick, worn out from sobbing, can't see, vision blurred by grief.” Been there. Done that. I wonder if this is David's family he speaks of? I cannot imagine political enemies would cause such grief. It looks like David is grieving over his failed relationship with Absalom. David feels like God is taking aim at him. David connects to the compassion of God in his trauma. This is good. The Greek word for compassion is splanchna. It means the viscera. The Hebrew word is grace, favor, delight. Can I share some neuroscience? From the esophagus to the exit 500 million neurons connect the brain to the digestive system. 50% of the dopamine in the body is found in the viscera. 90% of seratonin. Our pain stores in the gut. David calls this the nephesh, the soul. Do you feel it? When you are hurt, don't you sense the trauma in your soul? David says it, “I am sick at heart”, in Hebrew he says, “my soul is terrified”. His pain moves to the deepest part of him. It's at this point that David seeks the compassion, the innards, the gut, the grace and tenderness of God. Start here with the tender compassions of Jesus. Be gracious with yourself. Invite the supreme compassion of Jesus into the hurt. He cares. God knows your way of suffering. His grace and mercy are with you.
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Day 18. 347 more days to go. Psalm 7 is a Psalmatic passage, David is in deep weeds again. Psalm 7New Living Translation (NLT)
Psalm 7
A psalm[a] of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush of the tribe of Benjamin.
1 I come to you for protection, O Lord my God.
Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!
2 If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,
tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done wrong
or am guilty of injustice,
4 if I have betrayed a friend
or plundered my enemy without cause,
5 then let my enemies capture me.
Let them trample me into the ground
and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude
6 Arise, O Lord, in anger!
Stand up against the fury of my enemies!
Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
7 Gather the nations before you.
Rule over them from on high.
8 The Lord judges the nations.
Declare me righteous, O Lord,
for I am innocent, O Most High!
9 End the evil of those who are wicked,
and defend the righteous.
For you look deep within the mind and heart,
O righteous God.
10 God is my shield,
saving those whose hearts are true and right.
11 God is an honest judge.
He is angry with the wicked every day.
12 If a person does not repent,
God[b] will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He will prepare his deadly weapons
and shoot his flaming arrows.
14 The wicked conceive evil;
they are pregnant with trouble
and give birth to lies.
15 They dig a deep pit to trap others,
then fall into it themselves.
16 The trouble they make for others backfires on them.
The violence they plan falls on their own heads.
17 I will thank the Lord because he is just;
I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
David has a deep connection to trauma. Do you see it? Read this Psalm slowly. Can you sense David's connection to God in his hurt? List David's concern.
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Day 18. Continued. Cush the Benjamite slandered David to King Saul. Enter the rage filled father in law. This is a great loss for David. He loses trust from his King and father in law, David will be the target of Saul's murderous insane rage and chase David across the wilderness. Family betrayal is the deepest pain. It's possible to distance one self from work and objectify the attacks of colleagues, but not family. The trauma of family is up close, personal. Can you add to your timeline your family trauma? Who did what to whom? When? Then, we will insert the Gospel.
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Day 19.346 days to go. David goes to God for protection. David seeks the Lord to honor his integrity and rescue him. Look at the emotion of David's persecution: maul like a lion, torn to pieces. What was it about David that moved him to seek the Lord in his trauma? Look at verses 9 and 10, For you look deep within the mind and heart,
O righteous God.
10 God is my shield,
saving those whose hearts are true and right.
God looks deep within the mind and heart. He is so near. God knows our way of suffering, he looks deep within our heart during the trauma of betrayal. He knows. He connects. God is with you, shields you, and saves you.
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Day 20. 345 Days to go. Psalm 8 is a Post Psalmatic verse. David has come through trauma with his enemies, perhaps his son, Absalom, and now reflects on the goodness of God. David's neural architecture, that is the wiring of his brain, focuses on the majesty of God. Read it and reflect. Don't you thank God after the storm?
Psalm 8New Living Translation (NLT)
Psalm 8
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.[a]
1 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
Your glory is higher than the heavens.
2 You have taught children and infants
to tell of your strength,[b]
silencing your enemies
and all who oppose you.
3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?[c]
5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God[d]
and crowned them[e] with glory and honor.
6 You gave them charge of everything you made,
putting all things under their authority—
7 the flocks and the herds
and all the wild animals,
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that swims the ocean currents.
9 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
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Day 21. 344 days to go. David has survived his son's sabotage, the father in law from hell, and violent enemies. Now David reflects on the majesty of God. He says, “our Lord.” Personal. The character of God is majestic splendor. The beauty of God transcends the pain of David's punishing life. The glory of God ascends higher than the heavens. The majesty of God is greater more beautiful than my trauma. Trauma theorist Bessel Vanderkolk says that we can become stuck in our hurt. It's possible to become addicted to our trauma. David connects the greatness and transcendence of God to the son that hated, the father in law that conspired, and the enemies that terrorized. David's faith formed the neural architecture to transcend his hurt. Can you look to Him? Can you connect your pain to His greatness and beauty?
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Day 22. 343 days to go. Psalm 9 is another Post Psalmatic passage, after the death of David's vitriolic son, Absalom. Look how David gives credit to the Lord and refuses resentment and blame.
Psalm 9New Living Translation (NLT)
Psalm 9
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Death of the Son.”
1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
2 I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.
3 My enemies retreated;
they staggered and died when you appeared.
4 For you have judged in my favor;
from your throne you have judged with fairness.
5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have erased their names forever.
6 The enemy is finished, in endless ruins;
the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.
7 But the Lord reigns forever,
executing judgment from his throne.
8 He will judge the world with justice
and rule the nations with fairness.
9 The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.
11 Sing praises to the Lord who reigns in Jerusalem.[a]
Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds.
12 For he who avenges murder cares for the helpless.
He does not ignore the cries of those who suffer.
13 Lord, have mercy on me.
See how my enemies torment me.
Snatch me back from the jaws of death.
14 Save me so I can praise you publicly at Jerusalem’s gates,
so I can rejoice that you have rescued me.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others.
Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set.
16 The Lord is known for his justice.
The wicked are trapped by their own deeds. Quiet Interlude[b]
17 The wicked will go down to the grave.[c]
This is the fate of all the nations who ignore God.
18 But the needy will not be ignored forever;
the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed.
19 Arise, O Lord!
Do not let mere mortals defy you!
Judge the nations!
20 Make them tremble in fear, O Lord.
Let the nations know they are merely human. Interlude
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Day 23. 342 more days to go. David learned the ability to connect to the truth of who God is in his traumas. The Lord reigns, he executes justice. The Lord shelters, he is a refuge for our hurt. God can be trusted. He avenges. God is merciful. He does not ignore suffering. The Lord brings reverence to our pain. He is God, we are merely human. David's God perspective transcends betrayal, the most intimate of hurts, hateful family members, authority abuse, and more. Where does your God perspective take you in your pain?
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Day 24. 341 more days to go. This Psalmatic passage, that is David in the midst of a crisis, reveals his anger for the hurt in his life. Are you able to talk through your trauma? Can you connect to the details of your hurt and be angry, process, and surrender the perps to God's justice and not wreak vengeance on your own? Look at the tenderness of God for your crisis,
17 Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.
Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.
18 You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,
so mere people can no longer terrify them.
Psalm 10New Living Translation (NLT)
Psalm 10
1 O Lord, why do you stand so far away?
Why do you hide when I am in trouble?
2 The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor.
Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.
3 For they brag about their evil desires;
they praise the greedy and curse the Lord.
4 The wicked are too proud to seek God.
They seem to think that God is dead.
5 Yet they succeed in everything they do.
They do not see your punishment awaiting them.
They sneer at all their enemies.
6 They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us!
We will be free of trouble forever!”
7 Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats.[a]
Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.
8 They lurk in ambush in the villages,
waiting to murder innocent people.
They are always searching for helpless victims.
9 Like lions crouched in hiding,
they wait to pounce on the helpless.
Like hunters they capture the helpless
and drag them away in nets.
10 Their helpless victims are crushed;
they fall beneath the strength of the wicked.
11 The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us!
He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!”
12 Arise, O Lord!
Punish the wicked, O God!
Do not ignore the helpless!
13 Why do the wicked get away with despising God?
They think, “God will never call us to account.”
14 But you see the trouble and grief they cause.
You take note of it and punish them.
The helpless put their trust in you.
You defend the orphans.
15 Break the arms of these wicked, evil people!
Go after them until the last one is destroyed.
16 The Lord is king forever and ever!
The godless nations will vanish from the land.
17 Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.
Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.
18 You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,
so mere people can no longer terrify them.
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Day 25.340 more days to go. As you read the Psalms, have you noticed that David has not lost his ability to connect to God? His pain did not distance him from conscious contact with God. Look at this reflection.
“Neuroplasticity is the ability of neurons and neural networks in the brain to change their connections and behaviour in response to new information, sensory stimulation, development, damage, or dysfunction. Although neural networks also exhibit modularity and carry out specific functions, they retain the capacity to deviate from their usual functions and to reorganize themselves. In fact, for many years, it was considered dogma in the neurosciences that certain functions were hard-wired in specific, localized regions of the brain and that any incidents of brain change or recovery were mere exceptions to the rule. However, since the 1970s and ’80s, neuroplasticity has gained wide acceptance throughout the scientific community as a complex, multifaceted, fundamental property of the brain.” http://www.encylopediabritannica.com.
Ok so what the heck are we talking about? Your mind and heart can be changed by God. Your faith changes you at the neuron level. You are not determined to stay the same. Jesus through His Spirit can change the neural pathways in your brain from destruction to the love and grace of God.
Look at the Prophet Ezekiel's words,
Ezekiel 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.
What do you want God to change about your life and hurt? Write it down. Speak the words. Pray for a new heart, it's coming.
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Yes, I am ready
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Thank the Lord for his great gift of undeserved Salvation… Thank you Father for the great testimony of Isaiah and David… we sinners who have stumbled repeatedly in our lives… are without adequate words of gratitude ….Amen for these great prayers.
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Day 26. 339 days to go. Still reeling and grieving over the executions in Paris by Isis terrorists. Coordinated, premeditated, without compassion. David knew assault from violent militants. Look at David's reflections of God.
Psalm 11
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 I trust in the Lord for protection.
So why do you say to me,
“Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!
2 The wicked are stringing their bows
and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from the shadows
at those whose hearts are right.
3 The foundations of law and order have collapsed.
What can the righteous do?”
4 But the Lord is in his holy Temple;
the Lord still rules from heaven.
He watches everyone closely,
examining every person on earth.
5 The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked.
He hates those who love violence.
6 He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked,
punishing them with scorching winds.
7 For the righteous Lord loves justice.
The virtuous will see his face.
Anxiety strikes in danger. An event in our life takes 500 milliseconds to move into consciousness. The part of the brain that responds to danger and attack processes at a rate of 50 milliseconds. By the time a thought has clarity, our brain has processed fear and safety responses 10 times. We are hard wired to survive. Live enough violence and pain and we become cemented in anxiety and responding in fear. This is called Post Traumatic Stress. Do you have this? When confronted by fear concerns and safety do you react strongly with anger, flight, high anxiety? Look at David's response to violence; I trust you, Lord, the Lord still reigns, He is present watching you closely, God will bring justice because of his character. In all the drama of your life…you will see His face. Isn't this everything? Can you stay connected to Jesus in the trauma and not run to the mountains?
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Day 27. 338 days to go. David still struggles in this Psalmatic passage. He is under the crush of injustice and pain. Seems as though all the Godly are disappearing. Have you felt that way? You are the only sane person left on this planet? David speaks one powerful truth of life in the furnace, “The Lord's promises are true, like silver refined in a furnace.” We live the promise of God because we have experienced the truth of His love and character in the heat of trauma. Untruthful folk around you? Have you been burnt around the edges? He is faithful. God is just. Jesus' promises come refined by the fire of persecution and betrayal.
Psalm 12New Living Translation (NLT)
Psalm 12
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument.[a]
1 Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing!
The faithful have vanished from the earth!
2 Neighbors lie to each other,
speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.
3 May the Lord cut off their flattering lips
and silence their boastful tongues.
4 They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content.
Our lips are our own—who can stop us?”
5 The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless,
and I have heard the groans of the poor.
Now I will rise up to rescue them,
as they have longed for me to do.”
6 The Lord’s promises are pure,
like silver refined in a furnace,
purified seven times over.
7 Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed,
preserving them forever from this lying generation,
8 even though the wicked strut about,
and evil is praised throughout the land.
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Day 28. 337 days until. Stuck in pain. God forgot me. Bessel Vanderkolk, an expert in trauma recovery, says that it's possible to get stuck in one's pain. David seems like he is in a tough spot. Will God forget David forever? Now, look at David's resolution. He vents, then David connects, “I will trust in your unfailing love.” Trust requires consistency over time. David's faith is not foollish or immature. He knows the furnace, David knows what it feels like to be stuck. God can be trusted. Jesus said it, “In this world you have trouble, but rejoice, I have overcome the world.” You can trust Jesus because of the track record. He does not forget, and neither does he blame you for venting or questioning His recall of your pain.
Psalm 13New Living Translation (NLT)
Psalm 13
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
How long will you look the other way?
2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he is good to me.
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Day 29. 336 more days to go. Most of the first 14 Psalms are Psalmatic, that is David in the throes of heartache. This passage looks at atheism, corruption, and the abuse of David's people. David seems beside himself over the lack of faith in some people. May I offer a humble warning? Whenever I begin to point out the flaws in others, it's a sure sign of relapse thinking. My pain has skewed my perceptions and I am no longer mindful of the beautiful work within. Trauma does this. Makes us rigid and outward focused. Be careful friend. Jesus through His Spirit is in you, with you, for you. Jesus will complete the good work he began in you. David does a tremendous job of pulling out of the negativity to focus His words and worship on God. I truly believe this is why David was a man after God's own heart. David was not perfect, that is never the issue, David possessed the capacity to repent, connect, and follow after his own personal drama. David's spiritual architecture framed on the foundation of the love, sovereignty, and compassion of God. What is your framework?
Psalm 14
Psalm 14New Living Translation (NLT)
Psalm 14
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 Only fools say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
not one of them does good!
2 The Lord looks down from heaven
on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
if anyone seeks God.
3 But no, all have turned away;
all have become corrupt.[a]
No one does good,
not a single one!
4 Will those who do evil never learn?
They eat up my people like bread
and wouldn’t think of praying to the Lord.
5 Terror will grip them,
for God is with those who obey him.
6 The wicked frustrate the plans of the oppressed,
but the Lord will protect his people.
7 Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?
When the Lord restores his people,
Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.
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Day 30. 335 to go. Been reflecting on David and the Psalms. What if the entire book is David's story of surviving a brutal life? What if his gift to us is perseverance through the persecutions, betrayals, assaults, and disappointments? Think about Jesus for a moment. He is called the suffering servant. He is acquainted with grief. The point of our transformation is the crucible of Jesus' pain on the cross. What if the message of your life and story is the same? Can you find purpose in your suffering? Do you see that anesthesia from life is not divine goal? Anesthesia. What I seek is relief rather than transformation through suffering. This is good news. Thank you David. His life was preparing for trauma, in the hurt, or reflecting on his pain in transformation. I think we have something here.
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Day 31. 334 more days to the end. Look at your trauma timeline. Do you have the courage to give God thanks? Can you invite His Spirit to hover over the darkness of your suffering and bring order to chaos? Look at this passage from Genesis 1.
Read Genesis 1 aloud. God creates. His Spirit hovered over the waters of chaos. The word hover is used of mother birds hovering over and nurturing their young. The Spirit of God brings order to my chaos. The Spirit transforms emptiness into…light. Can you give Him thanks as you invite the Spirit into your timeline?
Genesis 1New Living Translation (NLT)
The Account of Creation
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.[a] 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”
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Day 32. 333 days to go.
Psalm 15New Living Translation (NLT)
Psalm 15
A psalm of David.
1 Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?
Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?
2 Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,
speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
3 Those who refuse to gossip
or harm their neighbors
or speak evil of their friends.
4 Those who despise flagrant sinners,
and honor the faithful followers of the Lord,
and keep their promises even when it hurts.
5 Those who lend money without charging interest,
and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.
Such people will stand firm forever.
This Psalm does not seem as though David is in the middle of an assault. He reflects. Look at the last verse with me, “Such people will stand forever.” Perseverance. Resilience. Staying Power. Now let's go back through the Psalm and see how David lands on the capacity to persevere. The one who worships, connects with God in truth, honor, and compassion is the one who stands firm forever. David speaks of vision in the trauma of life. This is the secret of David's perseverance; not how he performed in the hurt of his life, but the character that God formed in David within the traumas.
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Day 33. 332 until our journey completes. Character. The image of God in us. Contemporary culture does not value character, our culture values popularity, celebrity status. Character not required. Think about some of your icons. Please do not be judgmental. Can you reflect for a moment. What is the supreme value in media? Success. Followers. Bottom line? What of character in the trials of life? I wonder if the Gospel is not how good God can make me feel, but more along the path of the kind of man God creates me to be because of who He is in my pain? Will I not stop blaming? Will I then become grateful?
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