You Are Ripped

From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me -- let Israel now say -- 2 from my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, but they have never been able to finish me off. 3 My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.4 But the LORD is good; he has cut the cords used by the ungodly to bind me. 5 May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat. --Ps.129:1-5(NLT) The Psalmist reminds us of the vigors and trials of life that make us who we are. Even as early as our youthful days many have been persecuted by others. He is thankful to God as he realizes though he was persecuted; his enemies were unable "to finish him off." "My back is covered with cuts" is reminiscent to the reader of the scars of life that many have endured on their way to adulthood. A farmer plows for the purpose of growing produce. He's getting the ground in shape for something to grow. As painful as that thought is, these cuts have shaped us (men and women) into the person God hopes for us to be. --- I couldn't help to think of the many that go to the gym to be "cut" or "ripped" on their own to have a bodily physique that shows that they've been doing the work. Life, on its own, can cut us. Even though we go through junk in this life, one thing is for sure: "But the LORD is good." The LORD is the one who cuts us loose from the things the enemy has used to bind us. So to our enemy or the enemies of all who seek the LORD, there comes a time when we can call out the "haters" ("all who hate Jerusalem"), because we know to WHOM we belong. God has rescued us, and the enemy will "be turned back in shameful defeat." --- You are still here. Everything that has happened to you thus far should make you stronger. God believes in you. He will put to shame the enemy. Don't worry about that. Be who you are "in Christ" today! You are cut. You are ripped! You're looking good. Testify of the great things God has done for you.