Papa Bear

Growing up, I didn't have a dad. I never got to experience the protectiveness of a one, not even his over-protectiveness. I never had a dad who kept me safe or who was willing to fight those who were hurting me. In fact, the dad I did have was the complete opposite of all of that.

I love the Psalms. They often give words to things I'm feeling, and they express that which I fear to express. They give permission, so to speak, to feelings I think God disapproves of. But the Psalms also provide hope to my heart. They point me back to the One to whom I belong. They reorient my heart to truth.

Psalms 18 is one of my favorites. I love the imagery it contains of God thundering down from Heaven to rescue David after hearing his cry for help. I was reading it once again today when I realized something I never had before: I have the ultimate Papa Bear.

In this psalm, David is singing to the Lord after the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from Saul. There were a lot of bad people who wanted him dead, Saul being number one. David says in verses 3-5, "I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me." That's some pretty serious distress he was in. I've been in distress before, but not like David. I've never had someone trying to kill me. He goes on to say in verses 6-9a, "In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down...."

There are several things that stand out to me in those verses. First, the Lord absolutely is worthy of praise. Second, David said, "I cried to my God for help." The Lord is a personal God. He isn't just some God, He was David's God. He is my God. Third, the Lord heard his voice. His cry went into God's ears. Way too often do I think He doesn't hear me. Fourth, the earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook. Why? Because God was angry. And fifth, God came down.

In these verses, God is acting as Papa Bear. This psalm reorients my heart to the truth that He is my Papa Bear, able to move heaven and earth on my behalf. I love the fact that God was angry. Though I'm not a parent, as a preschool teacher, if I think someone is messing with 'my kids' it enrages me. How much more so would it enrage that child's parent? God was angry because someone was bullying His David. When the enemy comes to attack me, you better believe it makes God angry. I'm His Mindy and nobody better mess with His kid. I can imagine Him saying to my enemies, "Stop messing with my kid or I'm coming down there. And if  I come down there, you're going to be sorry."

David tells us in verses 13-14 that "The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them." I love this picture of God thundering from Heaven, shooting arrows of lightning at the bad guys who were trying to hurt David. The beautiful thing is that He's not just the God of David, or the God of the Old Testament. He didn't just do those things way back then. He does them now, He's the God of today, and He's my God. He's my Papa Bear who hears my cries for help. He's my Papa Bear who is angry when I'm attacked. He's my Papa Bear who comes down to save me. And I'm His Mindy.