Psalm 137

WHY THIS BOOK?Life is full of troubles. No matter the direction you turn, you find problem. Troubles ambush us as we come to earth. Do not ask me why. Even as spermatozoa we have to fight and jostle with over a million others as we strive to reach the only egg in our mother. Even after we reach the egg, we have to fight for it with another person who might have clung to it like we have done. Inside the womb, we have to battle a number of things and times. This includes the battle against acidity. Sometimes, our mother overdoses on something injurious and we have to handle it the best we could. These two examples are just to mention only a few. Sometimes, mum has malaria or HIV and we share in the heat. Kudos to our mothers who bear most of the burdens that face us while in the womb. After surviving that stage, we are born in great difficulty and sometimes pain. We come very close to choking or being trampled upon by doctors and nurses as they struggle to bring us out. We come next to the difficulty of taking the first breathe in life. Since to take our first breathe in life is not so easy, we have to be hit or beaten to draw the breathe we need to live. Then we have the trouble of feeding. Sometimes, parents have to force feed us. As we journey on in life, we have to swim through the sea of troubles that await mankind. From kindergarten to universities, we have to school in environments and circumstances we need to master and conquer in order to come out with the right credentials and accolades. We battle the prejudices of handlers and teachers who sometimes are wrong but fail to admit it. We face punishments we deserve and those we did not merit. Thereafter, we enter the larger society. We have codes and laws to follow and obey. We have people's expectations of us as well as overwhelming social levies. We develop our own tastes and values that create challenges. At every stage in life, there is trouble. They are as commonplace as the air we breathe. Can a man live without breathing?Problems in life remind me of omelets. You cannot make omelets without breaking eggs. If you must drive, then you must get into a car. If you must live on earth, then you must face problems and challenges. Should we then fear challenges and problems? When troubles come our way, how we react to them, make or mar us. The Bible is not just eloquent, it is sometimes talkative. It gives us over a dozen cross-references on most issues of life. How to handle problems cannot and is not an exception. The Bible has more than enough scriptures on this issue. In this short read however, we want to focus only on PSALM 137 which exposes to us how Israelites miss-managed a destiny changing challenge!This exegesis teaches us how to and why we must welcome and celebrate challenges what with them being the very fertilizers we need to have good success in life and ministry.