Have you ever been broken about your own spiritual condition? How about the spiritual condition of people you love? Are there times you are burdened for those around you that are drifting away from God? The Psalmist Asaph, in Psalm 80, is lamenting on the present spiritual condition of the people of God. Because of their plenteous lifestyle physically, they have grown cold. Their fellowship with God has faded. Sounds familiar to the Laodicean church of Revelation 3. It also sounds eerily familiar to way too many churches today.
Verse 17 says— “Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.” This is not a matter of will, you need Jesus to do this. You cannot, at all, possibly fix yourself, or your spiritual condition. You need God. The Messiah, the Protector and Savior of our souls. He is the Man of God’s right hand; He is the Arm of the Lord, for all power is given to Him. In Him is our strength, by which we can make it to the end. We can more than just ‘make it’, we can thrive!
Verse 18 continues with— “So will not we go back from thee…”. This should be on our hearts all the time— that we have the capability to turn from God and may already be doing so. We have the natural ability to convince ourselves that ‘all is well’ when it isn’t. This man was honest enough to admit that it’s possible, and he didn’t want that to happen anymore. He was looking for some safety mechanism, a security shield, to prevent it.
This psalmist didn’t want to get to a place of spiritual survival… he wanted to live! Eighteen continues with— “…quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.” The Hebrew word for “quicken” is to ‘bring alive’ or ‘to live’. Without Jesus making you come alive; you will not call on Him. It’s just that simple. We need Him. Why? Because He is life. This world is lying to you, because it is ran by a liar. In fact, he is “the father of all lies”, Satan (John 8.44). So when the world is leading you to do this or that, in order to ‘have a life’, they are lying to you. The only life there is, is in and with Jesus, alone! John 14.6 says— “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” There is no other source.
In verse 19 we read— “Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts…”This means literally ‘restore us’. Restoration is essential when we aren’t where we need to be with God. Repentance is defined as a ‘turning away to turn back to God’. It is a conviction that brings the desire to turn back to God. Some people face conviction or some other form of emotional remorse, but never repent. It’s by God’s grace that we ever repent. It is only done by His power. Our own sheer will isn’t enough. We need God to “turn us again”. Is everything where it needs to be with God? If there was ever a time it was better than it is now… you need restoration! Want to hear a reality? The word “again” is haunting. It means this probably isn’t the first time he had this need. And I know it isn’t the first time for me. How about you?
Nineteen continues with— “…cause thy face to shine…”Is His face shinning on yours right now? Are you in need of blessings that transcend this place and this life? His face shining is something quite unique. It’s not something that can be faked. If it’s shining, you know it, and so can others. Remember when God shined his face on Moses physically? It was so bright it changed his face, and the brightness was too much for those who were around him. Wouldn’t that be something? Having such a fellowship encounter that causes someone to put a hood on you. I would love that! But, do you know what hurts? When it isn’t shining. You know when that happens also. Sin will cause His face not to shine. To have sin in your life, that you finally get so tired of fighting off conviction, that you beg God to take it away. That is what is being talked about here. Ever been there? You need Him to do it, as stated above. Again, this is reminiscent of Moses’ meeting God.
What happens exactly when God does shine His face upon you? Verse 19 continues— “…and we shall be saved.”Without God, we are toast! With His face upon us, there is salvation! There is more than life, there is a closeness with eternal life. With closeness in our walk with Him, there is salvation. With a walk of intimacy, there is an eternal connection that blows away the temporal life around us today. This writer was desperate for God. So am I. How about you? He knew that it would mean utter collapse if God wouldn’t reach in and stop this negative spiral in his life. That is exactly what is happening nearly every day. The society he was in is similar in so many ways to ours today.
Our present society is spiraling. They need God. But we do too. My question for you is this: What are the real blessings of God? A right relationship with Him, salvation, eternal life, security, peace, joy, fruit of the spirit? Yes, and so much more. You see, the best part, by far, is His presence. That alone makes the difference. This man wanted God’s face to shine upon Him. So do I. Do you? I am convinced that we have faded. Why? Because we have settled. Mediocrity rules our lives. It’s time to seek His face again. It’s time to repent back to Him. It’s time to have God reach in, turn us around by His grace, and experience the son-shine again.