This is War!
Psalm 144
“We’re not
yet out of gunshot of the devil” —John Bunyan
Blessed be
the LORD, my rock,
who trains
my hands for war,
and my
fingers for battle. —144:1
Life is war:
One skirmish after another. We win a few and we lose a few with fresh battles
every day.
As I look
back on my life I must say that youth was a continuous battle to overcome my
passions; in my middle years I was besieged by a need to make good. Aging poses
a new set of challenges, not the least of which is dealing with losses.
Aging is
all about attrition. All the things we’ve spent a lifetime acquiring begin to
slip away. Learning to deal with each loss is the spiritual challenge for our
last years.
They say
that every battle plan is jettisoned in the fog of war. Precision and certainty
go out the window. I find myself clueless this morning. A recent loss bewilders
me.
I know no
strategy for dealing with this diminishment; no tactic to meet it. I can only
entrust myself to God, my rock, who has been faithful through all the years. He must train my fingers for battle and
my hands for war.
David Roper
2.22.17
