This morning, in my reading plan it’s the combination of reading Psalm 60 and the latter part of Romans 8 which is so impactful. Of having “O God, You have rejected us” and “If God is for us, who can be against us?” served up on the same plate. It is the reality of life enveloped in the reminder of the promise. I wrote about it last year. I also found some thoughts I had “penned” back in 2009 when the New King James was my translation of choice. Chewing on those thoughts from 17 years ago. Rerunning them as they were 17 years ago.

Sometimes life can be pretty harsh . . . ya’ think? You just need to look beyond our borders and see what some endure as part of getting up in the morning and trying to get through the day. But even within our borders, especially now, many face uncertain and tough times. And, even within our own little worlds . . . from time to time . . . we can’t help but wonder, “What on earth is going on here?!? Why me?!?” It can be staggering . . . disorienting . . . sending you reeling . . . as David captures it so well in my Psalm 60 reading this morning, “You have shown Your people hard things; You have made us drink the wine of confusion.” (Ps. 60:3 NKJV)

The wine of confusion . . . doesn’t that paint a picture? David’s context was the suffering of setbacks in battle against his enemies . . . though victory was eventually his, there were times when the battle seemed to be going the wrong way . . . when God seemed to have cast him off and broken him down (60:1) . . . it didn’t make sense . . . it left him staggering . . . reeling . . . it was like drinking the wine of confusion. No matter what he did . . . no matter how clever his battle strategy . . . despite his armies apparent superior strength . . . even though they were the people of God and theirs the cause of righteousness . . . they couldn’t get on top of it. What was going on?!?

But as you read Psalm 60, despite drinking deep of the wine of confusion, David never completely loses his orientation . . . though he staggers, he doesn’t lose his way . . . though things are blurry, He never loses sight of His God . . . thought the situation is desperate, he continues to call out to the Faithful One. “But You have raised a banner for those who fear You–a rallying point in the face of attack. Selah Now rescue Your beloved people. Answer and save us by Your power.” (60:4-5 NLT). There is a banner, a rallying point for those who are taking it in the teeth . . . ours is to call out to the God who owns us as His beloved people and look to Him for rescue through His mighty power . . . ours is to repel the wine of confusion . . . not forgetting the promises of the God who has spoken in His holiness (60:6-8) . . . confident that “through God we will do valiantly” (60:12).

In addition to reading Psalm 60 this morning, my reading plan had me in the latter portion of Romans 8, as well . . . check this out as an antidote for the wine of confusion . . .

“For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed in us” (8:18) . . . “We ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly awaiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope” (8:23-25) . . . “The Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses . . . we do not know what we should pray for . . . the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us” (8:26) . . . “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (8:31) . . . “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (8:35) . . . “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (8:38) . . . For I am persuaded that nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (8:38-39).

Though he didn’t have the writings of Paul, these God-breathed, Spirit inspired words of Romans 8 are at the core of David’s stability in Psalm 60. Why God would allow us to see hard times . . . why He would seem to not go out with our armies (Ps. 60:10) . . . why He would allow the table to be set with the wine of confusion . . . is His to fully understand. Mine is to cling to the banner He has given to those who fear Him . . . mine is to cry out, leveraging the interceding ministry of the Holy Spirit . . . mine is to set my hope fully on His promise . . . to set my eyes upon that day of deliverance . . . to set my heart on the One who loved us unto death and enables us to be more than conquerors . . . fully persuaded that nothing will separate us from the love of God.

God, that You would allow Your people to drink from the wine of confusion is a bit of a mystery to me . . . that You can be trusted through the disorientation is of a certainty to me. Enable Your people, Lord . . . by Your grace . . . for Your glory . . . amen!