“Aha, Aha!”

Scripture
 
Psalm 40:15     Let those be appalled because of their shame
        who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

Psa. 40:16        But may all who seek you
        rejoice and be glad in you;
    may those who love your salvation
        say continually, “Great is the Lord!”

Observation

David continues to teach us how to pray. He is a man lives by the spirit, following the leading of the LORD. He finds himself in a situation where others mock and shame him. They look at what he’s done and point it out saying, “Aha, Aha!” Look at what this man is doing and how ridiculous it looks in the eyes of the world. He is brought to public discredit because of his faithfulness to God. The result is confusion and disgrace. David shows us that we are to pray against those who would publicly disgrace God’s followers.

He moves on from praying against the oppressors to praying for those who will seek the LORD. Those who seek God will find God and discover the honor in knowing the LORD is far greater than the disgrace of the unbelievers who shout “Aha, Aha!” The love of God fills those who are saved and instead of ridicule, they rejoice in their redemption replying, “Great is the Lord!” Even the best followers of Jesus Christ will be undone if they do not live continually preserved by living in the grace of God.

Application

It seems as if society is standing at the ready to proclaim, “Aha, Aha!” anytime it appears that a Christian has done anything wrong. Because Jesus becomes our model for life and living the challenge for the Christ-follower can be great. The world has expectations of Christianity and when we fail to meet those standards there are plenty of folks at the ready to yell out, “Aha, Aha!”

The reason people are so ready to cry out, “Aha, Aha!” is because of their personal sense of conviction regarding their own behaviors. When we follow Jesus the light of Christ emanates from us and shines into a very dark world. This makes people feel quite uncomfortable and instead of focusing on the issues they may have in their lives, they enjoy pointing the finger at others. They await just the right moment when they catch you in something and cry out, “Aha, Aha!” The desire is to shame the Christian and publicly disgrace them. In some places this has almost taken on an art-form as the political systems have come against Christianity and literally made it gleeful for adversaries to cry out, “Aha, Aha!”

David shares with us a plan for those who would come against Christianity — pray for them! Ultimately the prayer leads us to understanding that those who say “Aha, Aha!” will be appalled because of their behavior. Then, the prayer turns to a positive note— that those who seek the LORD will rejoice. Yes, God is even in the business of transforming those who might be against him, into those who are for him. Those who have been caught up saying, “Aha, Aha!” may eventually say, “Great is the Lord!” That is to be our prayer — to pray for those who would come against us. That their eyes might be opened to what they are doing, but then turn to God, and continually rejoice in the salvation found there.

May the “Aha, Aha!” be turned to praise of God. It is possible as we unite with our Father in prayer and lift up those who speak against us.

Prayers

Lord, I pray that you might work in me and help me to love as you love. Please help me to pray for these who may come against you, that they would know our love. Amen.