CONFIDENCE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY

You will not abandon me
to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16.10-11 (read 16.8-11) NIV

This excerpt from the 16^th Psalm was used by Luke in Acts 2:25-33 as a theological argument to reinforce his belief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. In contrast to Luke, the psalmist wrote it as a testimony of his own experience with the Divine. Lucas argued to convince others of what he believed to be a truth while the Psalmist simply gave witness of his confidence in the Divine purpose.

The Psalmist was experiencing that which transcended the limitations of his own mortal life. Like us, he lived in uncertainty, insecurity, with danger at every corner and the fact that we all die sometime. If we were to look only at these negative aspects, it would be easy to fall into pessimism and despair. Without denying our hard realities, he saw another reality above everything else.

There is a difference between just taking a blow and being shattered by one. We are all subject to taking blows and to suffering, whether it is physically, economically, mentally or socially. Faith does not save us from going through hard times and from death. It is not a denial of threats. In spite of taking a hit our foundation is firm. We are not annihilated. We survive to continue. The psalmist speaks of the comfort that can be felt even during difficult times.

The last word is not disgrace, but grace. Chaos is a step towards order. Order (grace) has the last word.

The 16^th Psalm is the experience of the psalmist which Luke attributed also to Jesus. But this experience can be for all of us who experience the presence of a reality beyond the present moment.

The Christian faith, first of all, is a personal experience, not a set of arguments, a theological system or a series of dogmas; although we try to explain this experience by these means. It is a big mistake to try to promote a system of belief rather than to witness to our experience. It turns out that often we put theory in the place of an experience. We think that, in the absence of an experience, a theology can be convincing, but we end up only convincing ourselves!

Today the world needs people who have the ability to share a hope rather than promote beautiful arguments. Personal witness "springs" from the heart and causes individual and collective changes, while arguments come from the head and can generate conflict which can cause further suffering and injustice.

PSALM 16:8-11 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

    my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

    nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

You make known to me the path of life;

    you will fill me with joy in your presence,

    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.