The Climb (A Journey Through Psalms for Men)

Psalm 2

Why do the nations conspireand the peoples plot in vain?The kings of the earth rise upand the rulers band togetheragainst the Lord and against his anointed, saying,“Let us break their chainsand throw off their shackles.”

The One enthroned in heaven laughs;the Lord scoffs at them.He rebukes them in his angerand terrifies them in his wrath, saying,“I have installed my kingon Zion, my holy mountain.”

I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;today I have become your father.Ask me,and I will make the nations your inheritance,the ends of the earth your possession.You will break them with a rod of iron;you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

Therefore, you kings, be wise;be warned, you rulers of the earth.Serve the Lord with fearand celebrate his rule with trembling.Kiss his son, or he will be angryand your way will lead to your destruction,for his wrath can flare up in a moment.Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

I was 16, I was underwater, and I was stuck.

In the darkness, I scrambled to keep my head away from the rocks as I reached for anything that could help me upright myself or at least orient myself towards the surface. But every effort to break free of the current was taking more effort than it was affording me relief. I was in trouble.

"Hydraulics form in a river as water flows rapidly over a rock and then recirculates on the other side of it," our instructor had said, "and if you become trapped in it, it doesn't matter how hard you swim—you can't force your way out."

It was the quickest memory of the safety instructions from earlier in the day, but as soon as it flashed across my mind and I relaxed my body, I shot downward and out to where the water was calm enough for me to surface and grab the breath my body was desperate for. Here's the truth. I ended up in a place I should have never been that day because I hadn't listened. There were rules in place for a reason, but I had believed they were for someone else and that obeying them would have meant giving up my "freedom." After all, I wanted to explore. Sound familiar? How often, like the people in Psalm 2, do we fear giving up the right to do whatever we want? How many times a day do we see, read, or hear someone telling us that obeying God's way diminishes our lives? The thing is, there are consequences for this kind of lifestyle. God foresaw our pride and installed Jesus on the throne, not to condemn us, but to offer us the chance to surrender to Him. Just as no effort in the middle of the churning water would have freed me from the hydraulic, we cannot live our lives scratching and clawing our way towards blessing. Our only refuge is in Jesus—in surrendering to Him and obeying His lead as He sets us in calm waters.