Captain of My Soul?

Wednesday February 11, 2015

As Timothy McVeigh faced execution for a terrorist act that killed 168 people, he released as his last statement the well known poem Invictus. It says in part, "I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul," and concludes with these lines:

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate;

I am the captain of my soul.

The author, William Ernest Hensley, was a likeable man. But it´s clear that he didn´t seek assistance from his Creator, and that some kind of lone-wolf spirit resonated a century later in the dark heart of an unrepentant terrorist.

What if McVeigh the terrorist had turned his face towards Christ like the thief on the cross, who said : "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom"? (Luke 23:42). What if McVeigh had chosen the poetry of another man - King David - a man who was also a murderer?

The king poured out his broken emotions to the God who forgives: "I recognise my rebellion; it haunts me day and night" (Psalms 51:3). David had arranged the murder of Uriah to conceal his adultery. Eventually he would commit more sins - one that resulted in the death of thousands of his subjects (2 Samuel 24:10-16). But David turned towards God in genuine repentance, saying to Him, "I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! ...... Let your anger fall against me and my family" (v.17). David was imperfect, and yet Scripture calls him "a man after [God´s] own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14).

Though our heavenly Father yearns for our affection, He never forces it. We can raise a defiant fist of independence against Him. Or we can look to the One who died to save us from ourselves and from our many sins. He leaves the choice to us. - Tim Gustafson

Read

Psalm 51:1-19

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your unfailing love;

according to your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin

For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.

Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are proved right when you speak

and justified when you judge.

Surely I was sinful at birth,

sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;

you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will turn back to you.

Save me from bloodguilt, O God,

the God who saves me,

and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;

you do not take pleasure in brnt offerings.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart,

O God, you will not despise.

In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;

build up the walls of Jerusalem.

Then there will be righteous sacrifices,

whole burnt offerings to delight you;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.

2 Samuel 24: 1-17

Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah."

So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, "Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are."
But Joab replied to the king, "May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?"

The king´s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.

After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer, south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer. They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon. Then they went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba in the Negev of Judah.

After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.

David was conscience-stricken after he counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."
Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad the prophet, David´s seer : "Go and tell David, 'This is what the Lord says : I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.' "

So Gad went to David and said to him, "Shall there come upon you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me."

David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hands of me."

So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand." The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, "I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall upon me and my family."

Question to Ponder

How does it work to have a healthy independence and yet be fully dependent on God?

What happens when you defy God and act as the captain of your soul?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015