Hello all,

I hope you're doing well in the Lord and the power of God's might.

I was reading this Psalm this morning and would like to share a few thoughts from it:

Psalm 3:1-8 A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. O Lord, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me. Many are saying of my soul, "There is no deliverance for him in God." Selah. But Thou, O LORD, art a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head. I was crying to the LORD with my voice, And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God! For Thou hast smitten all my enemies on the cheek; Thou hast shattered the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the LORD; Thy blessing be upon Thy people!

I love David's honesty. He was considered a great warrior in his day, but does this sound like a great man of battle?

"Many are saying of my soul, "There is no deliverance for him in God." and "I was crying to the Lord with my voice..."

Someone could easily read the Psalms of David and deduce that maybe he wasn't this great warrior, but a pretty fearful guy. He lay on his bed crying; he was afraid and cried out to God that God alone could save him; he was actually on the run from his son’s men (II Samuel 15) just as he had been on the run from King Saul before that.

But what is David actually afraid of? I don’t think it’s the actual battle.

One of my favorite verses in the entire Bible reads: And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." 1 Samuel 17:37

I think David was strong in the battle. I think David’s battle was thinking about the battle. Such is the case with us. We tend to fret circumstances, the future, and other things we have no control over, yet when we go through the “battle,” we always seem to come out the other side by God’s grace. We’re strong in battle, but our cry is “God save us, we’re perishing,” or we lay on our beds weeping about these uncontrollable circumstances.

Jesus said, “Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.” Matthew 6:34

Jesus offered that verse just after the excellent verse many of us have memorized at some time: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”

What things? The things of life that God promised he would take care of—food, house, clothing, etc.

Like with David, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the things that are out of our control. But God does care about those things and wants us to rest and relax in him with full trust that the details will be worked out. Our “job” is to trust God and go forward seeking his will and the power of his might (not our own power).

David was a mighty man of battle because he trusted in the Lord when those battles came. He was often his own worst enemy when he sat or lay around contemplating the immensity of the challenge before him.

My prayer for us today is that we can invest our soul in trusting God rather than being overwhelmed and overcome by the factors we can’t change or control.

Let us allow God to be our strength rather than trying to carry the whole weight ourselves.

God’s peace and love be with you all.

John

 

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com