The Silent Dove in Far off Places

 

Ps 56:1 (For the choir director; according to Jonath elem rehokim. A Mikhtam of David,) (when the Philistines seized him in Gath.) Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; Fighting all day long he oppresses me.

Today I want to draw your attention to the superscription of Psalm 56 where we read these words: Jonath elem rehokim. The translation of that phrase is, "the silent dove in far off places." There are places in life where even the strongest of believers, the most ardent of followers hang their heads and freely admit they don't feel like God is speaking to them, or that God is nowhere to be found.

In the book of Joel 3:16, and in the book of Amos 1:2 it says, "...the Lord will roar from Zion..." Unfortunately that is not always the case, sometimes as Psalm 56 says, the dove is silent, and to add insult to injury that is said to happen: "in far off places."

Now its time for, as Paul Harvey would say, "the rest of the story..." David was fleeing for his life from King Saul, and as the proverb says he jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. He wound up fleeing to the home town of Goliath, and even had Goliaths sword strapped to his side when he came into town. This Psalm was written when he had been arrested and before any sentence was handed out. I could easily hear him saying to God, "where are you?" "I've done my best to serve you and all I am getting for it is trouble, and now when I need you the most I feel like the heavens are brass and you are silent to me."

David feigned insanity, and the King of Gath, whom some commentators say had insane relatives, basically said, we don't need any more crazy people around here, get rid of him. So they released David, and David found out that just because you can't hear God speaking doesn't mean He isn't working on your behalf.

An interesting side note is that Jonah, (the guy that got ate) his name means dove. He also learned that even though you can be in a place that seems as far from God as the bottom of the ocean, He still hears you when you pray.

The name of my blog is fire on your altar, I chose that title with goal of always trying to say something that would stir the coals of your life. This blog today is dedicated to those whose fire is more a spark than a blazing inferno, and I remind you of two things, sometimes the best of saints have had a season where the "Dove," seemed silent, and a little fire on your altar is still awesome. Mt 6:22 "Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. Mt 6:23 If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!

-Keep your fire burning, better is a little with God, than a lot in the tents of wickedness.

The Snare of the South Wind

Ac 27:9 And when considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over, Paul [began] to admonish them,
Ac 27:10 and said to them, "Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be [attended] with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives."Ac 27:11 But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship, than by what was being said by Paul.

Ac 27:13 And when a moderate south wind came up, supposing that they had gained their purpose, they weighed anchor and [began] sailing along Crete...

Sometimes our conscience, or friends, or the bible tells us to avoid a certain action, situation, or  person, and then some interesting things will coalesce and attempt to convince us to do something we have been told not to do. In this case a favorable wind, a moderate south wind convinced the sailors to go against the advice of the Apostle Paul. I call this the snare of the south wind. When it comes to right and wrong, sometimes right whispers and wrong shouts at us. Favorable condition don't necessarily mean a thing is right, they could be evidence of a snare or trap.

All traps have something in them that an animal wants, and they use that allure to wreck destruction. What happened to these sailors? Shipwreck, loss of cargo, a harrowing time in a stormy sea, and almost death. Don't let circumstances overrule your conscience or you may wind up like the guys below. Keep your fire burning.