Psalm 43:1-5

We live in an oppressive world, surrounded by oppressive people, in territory that has been dominated by and oppressive devil; even our own hearts have been oppressed through the sinful nature we possess.  There are times when we will feel completely overwhelmed by the oppression that comes from any one or all of these sources.  Then, to make matters worse, during those times of oppression we often get the feeling that God is rejecting us.  This feeling is not a correct feeling and does not reflect reality, but that does not make it feel any less real.  When these feelings begin to overwhelm us we must cry out to the Lord as the psalmist does in this passage and then set our hearts on these two commands.

WE MUST BE LED BY THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD: Satan is the father of lies and he will constantly try to oppress with by convincing us to believe things that are not true.  If we listen to his lies we will quickly become paranoid and think that everyone is out to “get us,” and then we will become fearful and think that God has rejected us.  We must not allow Satan to mislead us.  Instead, we must be led by the truth and the light of God’s Word.  God is the Father of truth.  His truth should constantly light our path and lead us back to where He wants us to be.  The oppression that surrounds us makes us vulnerable to Satan’s lies.  We must learn to reject this darkness and allow God’s Word to guide us down the path of truth.


WE MUST BE LED TO THE JOY OF WORSHIPING GOD: The path on which the Word of God places us will always lead to the same place: worship.  Our greatest joy and the weapon that we have to wage war on oppression is worship.  When we praise God with our mouths and use all of our gifts to exalt His holy name we are filled with joy, assurance and hope.  He is our God and we were made for the purpose of praising Him.  We will never sense greater joy or have more satisfaction in our lives that when we worship God.  Our fulfillment in life is only found in worshiping God.  Everything else will lead to disappointment, fear and guilt.  But if we are led by the Word of God and the Spirit of God into a life of praise and worship; our heats will rejoice and be full of faith, hope and love.

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