They Can't Eat You...

 

Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. (Psalm 118:5-9 ESV).

 

You’ve heard the adage that “They can kill you, but they can’t eat you.” However, I know I’m not the only one who has felt the pain of betrayal and deceit from others. It makes me wonder at the question the psalmist raises in our reading today. He writes, “What can man do to me?”

 

I think we all know what the psalmist is getting at here, but we cannot deny that people can be mean! They can hurt us verbally, emotionally, psychologically, and physically. And my guess is that we’ve all experienced at least one of those hurts, if not all of them. I don’t necessarily live in daily fear of physical harm, but some people do—and that can be devastating. There are some who live in fear of being hurt by people’s words. They cringe when they see a text or email from someone they suspect means them harm.

 

Still, the psalmist knew all of that as well as we do. He was pursued and threatened with bodily harm. But even during threats and dangers, he was able to give thanks to God, confess that the Lord was with him, and be certain that mere mortals could not ultimately destroy him.

 

While people might be able to hurt our bodies or minds, they can’t hurt our souls. And while people can hurt us in this world, they can’t hurt us forever. That is the message the psalmist wants us to hear. We aren’t assured of health and safety on this earth. But we don’t need to fear what anyone on this earth can do to us. They cannot control our destiny. With God, we can be certain that our destiny is in his hands. The next time you fear others and their destructive intention think of the promise of our Heavenly Father who will never leave us alone in these challenges. Nothing can separate us from Him. Even if the kill us … and eat us … He will not fail to deliver us to our eternal home!