“If it had not been the Lord who was on our side— let Israel now say— if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us,” Psalm 124:1-2 ESV
Reflection: when did the Lord have to rescue you out of a situation?
One of my top engineers stabbed me in the back. While I had not only brought him on board, spent a lot of time building him up, giving him the best projects, it wasn’t enough. He wanted more. So in the background, he started working with the other engineers behind my back. And, aligning himself with my manager, he created a situation that became rather toxic for our group and very difficult for me to manage. So, after much contemplation, I decided not to fight this, but to take a different position; initially a demotion. It was unfair, it was humbling. I had worked very hard to build up the team I had to leave. But, I kept my head down and started building my reputation in the new group and position. Turns out, through a number of strange career stepping stones, this move not only accelerated my career, but protected me through a downsizing. The toxic group I decided to leave basically imploded shortly after. My manager got pushed out. Some of the engineers left, and some were let go. Most likely, if I had stayed, stood on my “right”, I would have probably been one of those who were let go.
We read from Proverbs “A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 NKJV. I have no doubt that it was the Lord who protected me through this, that He was the one who orchestrated the situation so that I felt that I needed to leave, and that it was Him who created a new position for me to step into; a position that had not existed and just happened to be available. Neither were something I had planned. The short Psalm 124 recognizes this exact situation, that our protection is from the Lord; not our own doing. Let’s read a bit more of this beautiful psalm for context.
““If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,” Let Israel now say— “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, When men rose up against us, Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their wrath was kindled against us; Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, The stream would have gone over our soul; Then the swollen waters Would have gone over our soul.”” Psalms 124:1-5 NKJV. Notice the recognition here that there are wickedness and evil all around us, that men will rise against us. It has happened numerous times in my career. One of the engineers who were let go, who was actually part of the problem, became bitter as a result, in a way the toxic waters “overwhelmed” him and he struggled for years. It was and has been hard to witness.
Looking back, in that moment when I had to make a decision whether to leave, it was not easy to take a demotion in order to leave the group. But, it was clear that the Lord directed my steps, and greatly blessed my path forward. And therefore I can say with the psalmist “Blessed be the Lord, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth. Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; The snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” Psalms 124:6-8 NKJV.