Sometimes I am just amazed

Has God ever amazed you?   Like really amazed you?  Turned something around that you would never have thought possible?

Consider Ananias of Damacus.  (acts 9).  Here he was, a godly man, living and doing his thing and God...yes indeed God...talks to him in a vision.  He tells Ananias to "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul".    Ananias was justifiably shocked.  Saul of Tarsus?   I'm to meet with him...but Lord..he persecutes your believers!!!!

He's amazed. 

This is the same man who watched Stephen be "rocked to death".   He held their coats while he was stoned.  He worked with the chief priests to imprison all who called on the name of the Lord.     And Ananias is to go to him?  And not only that...he will find this Saul praying?

But the Lord answered Ananias' amazement "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel."   

Saul was chosen by God to be his "chosen instrument" for evangelism to the Gentiles and the Jews.     Did you note that?  That God chose Saul to do his work.   It wasn't Saul's choice....it was God's.   

Ananias went, layed hands on Saul - calling him brother, and Saul could see again.   Saul was baptized and ate food and well...we know the rest of the story.  Saul went on to become Paul, a great evangelist and teacher.  He wrote half the books in the New Testament.  Many owe their faith in God to the influence of Paul's work for the Lord God.

Isn't God amazing?   See what he did in Saul's life!   See what he did in Ananias' life!   God does things that sometimes just blow one's mind if one stops to think about it.    All praise be to him!  :)

Kinda makes me wonder what amazing thing God will do next! 

Steve pointed my way here....

Steve over at the Hemmeke blog pointed my way here.

If you want to know more about the struggles within my larger denomination, this is a good place to start. :)

Solomon, oh Solomon

Reading in I Kings 10-11
So here is Solomon.   The wisest man in the world.   The king of Israel.  Blessed by God.
Here is the Queen of Sheba.   They meet.

The queen comes to meet Solomon because she is curious AND she wants to learn.    She wanted to know if what she had heard about him was true and she wanted to test him with some hard questions.   And Solomon takes his time with her, answering all her questions for "there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her".   She was amazed.  All his people were happy.  He was such a wise man.   She tells him " Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed
be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the
throne of Israel! Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made
you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness."  

In Solomon's wisdom, the Queen saw the hand of the Lord at work.  

Makes me wonder.   Do you see the hand of the Lord at work when you see someone who has been blessed of God?

Solomon was a man who loved God.   God blessed him and through him, blessed Israel mightily.  It was a rich country!    Kings and people came from all over the place bringing tribute, doing trade, and listening to the wisdom of Solomon.   Solomon had it made!  People saw the hand of the Lord blessing him.

And then.....Solomon got distracted.   He had all these wives.  "He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines."    First of all, I can't imagine having that many people involved in my life that I need to be involved with.   He needed to keep them happy.   He let them distract him away from God.   God no longer, was the first love of Solomon's life.   He allowed these women to lead him to other forms of worship.  He built worship places for abominations!

"So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and did not wholly follow the LORD".    God was NOT PLEASED!!!   He told Solomon not to do this thing.   Solomon decided that he didn't have to obey God.   So God's response to Solomon was ""Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant
and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the
kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However,
I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your
son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem
that I have chosen."

David, the man who loved God with his whole heart, was Solomon's father.   For the sake of David, God showed some mercy to Solomon.  But Solomon was duly warned that disobeying God has consequences.   But Solomon decided that keeping his wives happy was the better course of action.

Ah Solomon, to be so wise, and to fall away from God.  You lost your blessing! 

I read this and I just felt so sad.   This man was so wise and so blessed by God and yet he turned away from God.   He failed to hold on to what he had from God.  He pleased himself in pleasing his wives.    It also fills me with repentance because there are times when I just want to please myself too.   I do, it's part of me.   So I can understand Solomon, but that willfulness in staying turned from God.... When God calls me to account, I listen.   I so wish that Solomon had listened.  It would have saved the people of Israel so much grief.

I look at the denomination that I am part of now.  I wonder sometimes, what kind of grief are we letting ourselves in for?   This past synod, Sunday was not taken as  a day of rest.   It was a work day like all the rest.   God is not pleased by this.   Other things happened at this synod that really served to NOT advance the gospel.  God is not pleased by this.   What type of grief are we letting ourselves in for?   Turning from God to do what we think is best is no better than what Solomon did.    Sin has consequences.   I just fear sometimes for what is ahead in this denomination.   What consequences will God mete out to bring us back to him?

My week

Have you ever had a week that was really good and couldn't quite put your finger on why it was so good?  This past week was like that for me.

My hubbie struggled with the heat so ended up setting up the trailer so the cool night air would help him sleep.   yes, I know.... might seem odd to some folks...but it kept headaches and icky feelings away (for him) which makes life easier all around.

Justin and I did the pool thing frequently.   He now makes a beeline for his swimming pool when we are out in the backyard.   I can put him down anywhere and if he sees his pool...off he crawls to get to it.   Nice to see him having fun NOT nice having to haul him out wet clothes and all!    It is SO fun to watch him though.  He has such a hoot.  Sometimes he laughs so much our younger dog gets a bit jealous and sneaks in for some loving from me...which makes Justin hoot all the more!  (the dog is close!  the dog is close!  ah ah ah!!!)

I had my last Sunday School class yesterday (for this year).  We are trying to figure what to do for next year.  The one girl is so ready to move up, the other isn't.   Hard to know what to do.  They really don't want to be in a class all on their own either so....what to do?  Ah, their mom and I and Jim will figure it out.  It was nice to be done, and we had a good class too!

We all went for a bike ride for the first time yesterday.   it worked well!   We passed some horses and Justin got all excited.    I was reminded of why I like my bike so much.   :)   Cost enough...I should like it.  I"m hoping next year that we can afford to get the shifting system revamped.   Somehow it got messed up so shifting is an issue, but for just riding around town shifting is just not an issue...I love the smooth action and gliding of my bike.   :)  On our ride we stopped at a parishoners house and saw his canaries and fish pond.  Nice to have a short visit.  

We had our anniversary, just a quiet day at home with lunch out and a "eat whatever you want" supper.

My mom sent me a note saying how much she likes reading my blog.  :) 

Some old friends got in touch with us that we'd been starting to wonder about.

It was just a lovely week together as family.   It felt like my little old heart smiled a lot this week.   It is so nice to have a week like that once in a while.  :)

Stephen Died

He died.   Read Acts 6-7 to know more.
He was a martyr for the faith.
He died asking God to forgive the sin of the people who were killing him.

I read that passage over this morning and I left thinking.....could I have done that?  Could I have done all that Stephen with all the grace that he showed?

Stephen here he was, doing his thing for the Lord.  He was full of 'grace and power' (v8) and he got into a disagreement with the "freedmen".   They " could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men who said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God." (v10-11)  They lied about him to the leaders because they couldn't win an arguement.
Stephen knew this.   

Did Stephen say... "liar liar pants on fire"?
No...what Stephen did was to give a clear defence of the gospel.  He spelled it out for them from the beginning.   He let them clearly see their history and God's hand in it.

He did end up calling them a "stiff-necked people" because they "resist the Holy Spirit" (v. 51).   They would persecute the prophets even to the extent that they  murdered Christ.

All this did was get the crowd angry.   So angry that they were grinding their teeth.

I try to imagine that deep of anger.  I have heard what mobs can do to people, how people can get so worked up when they are in a group.   So I imagine some mob mentality was going on there...but to be so angry that it goes beyond emotion to physical symptons.   Not sure if I've ever been that angry.   Maybe I have, I just find it difficult to picture.

Stephen was blessed to see a vision of God with Jesus standing next to him.   And he cried out "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." (v.56)   But the people couldn't stand it any longer.   They were so angry that they stopped listening (mobs have that tendency).     What they did was to yell and holler and close up their ears.   They didn't want to hear anymore from him.    So they threw Stephen out of the city and stoned him.

I think...man...that's an awful way to kill someone.   To throw stones at them until they die.   Have you ever dropped a stone on your foot?   Then you know what it sorta feels like.   Stones are not pleasant things to have hit you!    I know it was what they did back then, but it still strikes me as nasty.   But Stephen maintained his grace....he prayed to God to take him home and for God to forgive the people for what they did.

I don't know if I could have done that.   

I know from reading stories of martyrs that they wonder the same thing.   Can they maintain their Christian witness in the face of persecution and death?   The answer they give is that it is all the work of God.   God in us, causes us to be able to face this stuff with grace.   

I just pray to God that if I am ever faced with this type of situation that God will grant me the ability to clearly state his case, and to be able to leave this word with grace and forgiveness on my lips.  I know that on my own...it won't happen, but God working in me..... miracles and change and grace will be shown.   :)

I have Learned something new

Today I started reading in the Song of Solomon. So far it is reading like a love story between a man and a woman. Boy...do they like each other. So full of compliments to each other.

Anyways, I came upon this word "nard". It was in these verses.

12While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave forth its fragrance.
13My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
14My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of Engedi.

I had NO idea what it was. I looked it up. Here is what bible fragrances had to say about it.

Nard

Also improperly known as spikenard (from Latin spica, head of grain, and nardi), this hardy herb, a member of the Valerianaceae family, grows in the foothills of the Himalayas. The part of the plant growing underground has the appearance of a fibrous spindle, and is rich in the precious essential oil.

From India, nard traveled, in the form of a dry rhizome or oil phase extract, via Persia, under the name nardin.

Horace offered to send Virgil a whole barrel of his best wine in exchange for a phial of nard. Though nard is now rare on the shelves of the western perfumer, its name stood for centuries as an evocation of the perfume of the lost Garden of Eden, and in literature, nard came to refer to any perfume, as long as it was exquisite.

Pliny, in his Natural History, lists twelve species of nard, ranging from lavender stoechas and tuberous valerian to true nard – Nardostachys jatamansi. Price lists dating from this period suggest that this pure nard, with which Christ was anointed at Bethany, might already have been produced by a form of distillation.

By relating that it was contained in an alabaster flask, Mark (14,3) and Matthew (26,7) further underline the precious nature of the nard given to Christ.

In the Old Testament, nard is referred to in the Song of Songs, as a symbol of the intimate nature of the Bride’s love. This is the point at which relations with her beloved are initiated. When the perfume of nard is named, the bride recognizes her beloved as such.

It is in the Gospels that nard becomes a symbol of revelation during the anointment of Christ at Bethany.

Nard has intense, warm, fragrant, musky notes, similar to the aromas of humus. It exhibits a wide range of fragrances among the root-type perfumes.

Have you read the Song of Solomon lately?
Do lines like these make you think of your spouse?

3As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my beloved among the young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste,

2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine;

15Behold, you are beautiful, my love;
behold, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.

2As a lily among brambles,
so is my love among the young women.

10My beloved speaks and says to me:
"Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away,

I read verse 10 and it makes me think of how my hubbie just loves to do things with me. He loves to just spend time with me, even if it is doing nothing. I find myself, basking in that somedays. Just loving the fact that he just loves to spend time with me. Maybe that's a silly thing to admit to. :)

I have to admit...I am a person who finds it hard to sit still, and sometimes I have to force myself to do that. To just spend time with him. I would rather be spending time with him doing something...walking around, working, playing a game and so forth. But because I love him, I will sometimes just take the time and just sit with him. I love the fact that often times he comes for my later day walk with our son and the dogs. We even take turns on who walks the dogs, and who pushes the stroller. But it's a time to share just as a family (sans the cat and guinea pigs).

Today is our wedding anniversary. Reminds me that I so still very much love this man that I married four years ago. He's such a good man with a good heart. And I delight in him as if he were the one apple tree in the midst of a forest of firs. :)

The bible today

Today my reading from scripture was taken from Proverbs and Acts.

In Proverbs 28 these verses caught my attention:

5Evil men do not understand justice,
but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.
25A greedy man stirs up strife,
but the one who trusts in the LORD will be enriched.
26Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool,
but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

Then I read in Acts 1 these verses:

1But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." 5When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

7After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8And Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much." And she said, "Yes, for so much." 9But Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." 10Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

These verses just seemed to fit well together this morning. In Proverbs we learned the folly of going against God. Of thinking that we know better. And in Acts we see the living proof of that.

In teaching Sunday School this year, I found it a challenge to help my girls see the treasure that we have in Christ and at the same time to see that listening to him and obeying him are so very important. We need to see both. We need to see God's mercy as well as his justice. It's hard to convey it well to youth. They tend to see God as well, he's there right? And we can talk with him. But it's not like he'll do anything to us. Sometimes it seems that God is so distant from them, but then they'll surprise me with flashes of insight. I live for those moments! :) I really do. It's fun to watch that "oh" look in their eyes.

I'm still not sure that they really understand that Justice and Mercy are both attributes of God. It is something that all of us need to see and understand. God's path is wisdom, man's path is folly. Trying to fool God is just plain stupid.

I'm not sure if God still kills people today for daring to openly test him, but he has in the past, and he still can. Why go the way of the fool if you don't need to?

Onour walk this morning

On our walk this morning (me and the dogs) we saw this fellow.

Picture from: http://www.northrup.org/photos/red-fox/

He, of course, saw us first and beat a hasty retreat. He stopped about 100 ft from us. The dogs poked up their heads and watched him. He sat down, curled his tail around us and kept a good watch on us. He didn't move until he thought we were well out of site. Makes me wonder if there is a fox den somewhere on the trail in town.

I just thought it was rather neat. I've never been that close to a real wild fox (one that's actually in the wild). Just so you know...it's way better than seeing them in the zoo! :)

He swims

So this past week we purchased a small pool for Justin.  $10 at the local C. Tire store.

Filled it with 3 inches of water.

Let the wonderful hot weather we are currently experiencing heat the water nicely.

Today Justin went swimming.  I stripped him down outside and just dumped him in.  (after of course checking that water was indeedy warmed up)    This little 11 month old boy had SO MUCH FUN!!!!   Made his mom-mom laugh.   I had purchased some sand toys a while back on sale, and I dumped half of them into the water with him.   Splash and dump and attempt to drink.  Boy.... you couldn't have asked for more fun. 

AND THEN>>>> he learned that he>>>>> could climb out!   WOW!!!   more fun!!!!   more excitement!!!!  More screams of AHH!!!!!

Later today he might experience the joy of bike riding too.    Justin and I picked up a bike seat for him while garage-saling this morning and then hubbie and I picked up a toddler bike helmet for him this afternoon.  He was unimpressed at the store (he HATES wearing anything on his head).  So we'll see how that goes.

Proverbs

As part of my devotions, I've been going through Proverbs.   I have to admit that I do not find the Proverbs to be ...hmm...how do I put this.  I don't find them as easy of a read as I do the Psalms.   Most of the Psalms read well, like poetry.   And the Proverbs...it's just a bunch of saying bunched together.  

Sometimes they all connect easily, but other times it's like...huh?  Why did they link those verses together?  and what does this have to do with that?

So it's a bit of a struggle to say the least.  :)     Not that I mind struggles. 

Today I read Proverbs 16-18

These verses from Proverbs 16 caught my attention.
1The plans of the heart belong to man,
   but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
2All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
   but the LORD weighs the spirit.
3Commit your work to the LORD,
   and your plans will be established.
4The LORD has made everything for its purpose,
   even the wicked for the day of trouble.

Just think about this for a moment.   We make plans, but God has the final answer.   We have our own thoughts and ideas about things, and we think we have it all figured out, BUT God sees our hearts.   God sees it all, he weighs us out.  He has the final answers to everything...despite what we think or want or plan or....

In some ways I find that a huge comfort.  I know that God knows it all and has the final answer.  There are times when I think...ah...God is weighing out my spirit....Will it meet the measure?   I'd ask what the measure is...but I already know that... God's measure is his own son... He sees his Son in me.   (because I"m a believer)  But what do non-believers have as a ... not sure of the word...I want to say protector but that doesn't seem right... I"ll leave it for now though.    

I have the comfort of knowing that as God weighs my spirit that he will not find me wanting because his spirit resides within me.

I have the comfort of knowing that if I commit my plans to the Lord...which means careful thought and consideration of what the Lord's will might be, and acting as best I can in the light of the 10 commandments.. that my "plans will be established".

God has a purpose for everything...even for the wicked!

I think I will always remember a line I read in a book.  Can't remember the book, but the wise guy was talking with a woman who was just learning how to be an effective queen, and there was a heckler in the crowd.  The man's response to the flustered queen was... perhaps God created that man so that he could come here today to heckle you so that you would more forcely say what you must.    In the book that man's heckling caused this woman to be more queenly and rally the support of the people that she needed so that the really bad guys could be defeated.

So even the wicked have a purpose in life.   God does know what he is doing.

But for such as time as this....God created...that person (in the book).  But it holds true that for Such a time as this...God created me so that I could....Write this blog?  Be a parent?  Be a wife?  A dog-sitter?   Be his child for a certainty.  

What has he created you for ... in such a time as this?

John 20

Have you ever read a book and wondered....why was this written? Just what was the point of the author? Was he/she just trying to entertain? Where they trying to impart knowledge? Just what was the point?

I've had that.

And I know from talking with people, that sometimes they wonder what the point of the Bible is. It was written by lots of different people, and sometimes it seems to contradict itself and so on and so forth.

Well, I was reading from John 20 this morning and came across these lines.

30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Here we are. Christ has died, has risen from the dead. He's appeared to lots of people and has done various signs and wonders. People believed it was him! Some took a bit more convincing (i.e. Thomas) but they knew that Christ had indeed been raised from the dead. Life has been restored. Hope has been restored. No more hiding out is needed.

And why?

Why were these things written down? So that "you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

This is why we have the word of God. It has been written down for us so that we can know that Jesus is THE CHRIST. Jesus is THE SON OF GOD. And in knowing this, that we can have life in his name. We don't have to stay dead in our sin. We can have life! And it's all been written down so that we can be saved.

I don't know about you...but I find that just absolutely marvellous! :) And it gives me an answer to those who wonder what the importance of the Bible is....to teach people who Jesus is, and that by knowing that, they can believe in him and have life anew! Cool eh? :)

Psalm 141

Today's reading was from Psalm 139-141 and John 17.

This caught my attention this morning. From Psalm 141

1O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

3Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips!
4Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
and let me not eat of their delicacies!

I talk with LOTS of people about spiritual matters and one thing that constantly crops up is those 'besetting sins'. You know, the one (or two) sins that you have that you constantly (or so it seems) you have to battle. For some people it's worry, others how they talk, others its things of the mind or ________. You fill in the blank..you know what you struggle with.

I keep telling people that even if you have to do it one million times a day, or fifty times a second (or so it seems), just keep turning it over to God. Just say "God, this _________ is here again, I'm sorry, help me not to do it again."

I was thinking about that this morning....if only because my own besetting sin was being an irritation this morning, and how I was talking with a friend last week who said she's about ready to just give up on God because it just ain't working. And that bothers me. So here I am reading from David's Psalms and he says "I will call upon you". "Give ear to me when I call upon you."

I did challenge my friend as to whether God helped her or not, and she did admit that he did. AND that things were better than they were...but she wants it gone. I don't get it. You see something getting better and you want to give up because it's not going as quickly as you would like?

Over and over in the Psalms we see David calling out to God for help. David didn't give up. He made dreadful mistakes and sins against the Lord God, but he didn't give up. He knew where his help came from.

And I know it too...my help comes from the Lord.
I must indeeds call upon him all the time for help.
He alone can make things right.

I don't know. I want to say more, but my heart and head are too full right now.

Just don't give up. You need to call upon the Lord. He will hasten to our aid.

Today is a New Day

So My boy is feeling MUCH better.
He slept all night.
He woke up happy.

He ATE A BIG BREAKFAST!

He was happy on our morning walk.

Life is good today! :)

A Voice of Sanity Anywhere????

So I'm at home alone with an extra dog and a little boy who just can't seem to be okay today. He needs his momma... he's tired... no... he's hungry...no something just isn't okay. Oh no... the dog looked at him funny. CRY! CRY! CRY!

I need a voice of sanity.

Just one...just a little one...but a voice of sanity would be ever so nice.

Now granted I've been able to do a couple of things today and that helped. I sorted through garage sale items. Even went to a couple of garage sales this morning while walking the boy and the dogs. Even had lunch. :) Didn't have time to do much else...oh...the boy and I sat out and watched this marvellous rainshower....we were all nice and dry and it just came a pelting down. Just marvellous that.

and soon i'm having to walk the dogs... but once again...AHHH!!!!! My boy needs me again. Gotta fly.

Lingamish: The Bible wasn't written to you

Lingamish: The Bible wasn't written to you

I was reading through some blogs and followed links, one from another...you know how that goes and I discovered "The Bible wasn't written to you" written by this guy Lingamish.

It's worth a read. Check it out if you would please. Certainly made me think, and drove home the point my hubbie keeps making to me. Understand FIRST who the passage was written to and why and so forth before thinking about applying it to your own life.

Psalm 55

I read this psalm this morning seeing the answer to life difficulties within it.

David, the psalmist, cries out to God. He is in such a state! Enemies every where. He so overwhelmed that he cries out to God in his anguish!

1Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
2Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless in my complaint and I moan,
3because of the noise of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they drop trouble upon me,
and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

David just wants to run away from it all, but he turns to God for the answer to his difficulties in life.

4My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.
6And I say, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
7yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness;

I think about this and it reminds me how often I want to handle it myself when life gets difficult. I want to take care of the problem myself in any number of ways. Bossing people around, anger, tears, of "think woman"! and so forth. And I'm sure David had his moments of "I want to do it myself"... and even hear he's tempted to handle it himself by running away. BUT... and I love buts. He turns to God despite what he wants to do. Instead of running away he turns his heart to God, beseeching God to "Give ear to my prayer".

He asks God to handle the problem for him.

9Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues;
for I see violence and strife in the city.
10Day and night they go around it
on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud
do not depart from its marketplace.

He takes solace in the fact that he knows that God will be with him. That God will indeed help him.

16But I call to God,
and the LORD will save me.
17Evening and morning and at noon
I utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
18He redeems my soul in safety
from the battle that I wage,
for many are arrayed against me.
19God will give ear and humble them,
he who is enthroned from of old,
Selah
because they do not change
and do not fear God.

And the reason that he knows that God will help him? Those arrayed against him "do not change and do not fear God". God takes care of his own. He really does. He hears our prayers and responds to them.

David knows that

22Cast your burden on the LORD,
and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

Just think about this for a moment. God created us. God created the world. He is infinite and powerful and has every reason to cast us aside. BUT we can cast our burdens on him. He will sustain us. He will NOT permit the righteous to be moved... hmm...had to think about that for a moment. What does that really mean? Matthew Henry says "He will never suffer the righteous to be moved; to be so shaken by any troubles, as to quit their duty to God, or their comfort in him. He will not suffer them to be utterly cast down." That resource is found here.
Think about that for a moment. The troubles of the righteous in God, will never get so bad that we will be shaken, quit our devotion to God, or lose the comfort that he gives us. Things might get rough, but if we stick with God things will work out okay. Wow...what a comfort and surety that is.

He knows that God will take care of us. He will cast our enemies away. He knows that through it all ... We can Trust God.

23But you, O God, will cast them down
into the pit of destruction;
men of blood and treachery
shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.

WE CAN TRUST GOD.