Are you by any chance feeling lonely or weak, discouraged or afraid? Perhaps you are feeling over-whelmed by an unexpected turn of events or the restrictions of this Covid pandemic. Maybe you are experiencing health problems, family issues or misunderstandings with your boss or a co-worker? Do you know anyone who cannot identify with these kinds of emotions or difficulties? Scott Peck made a opening statement in his book, The Road Less Traveled, that probably isn’t news to anyone. He simply said, “Life is Difficult.” Neither riches, power, position, nor fame can alter this reality. So where do you find your strength and stability to face these challenges, to move forward, and to look back at the end of your day and sleep peacefully?
Have you read the biography of King David recently? Who had more reason to feel weak than he did when he faced the giant, Goliath? Who could have been more lonely and afraid than David was in the fields when he was protecting his sheep? There must have been times when he felt totally confused, scared for his life, and over-whelmed by the attempts of King Saul to kill him. The stories of his failures and God’s forgiveness are moving. The stories of his defeats and his victories are convicting. The most impressive and personal insights into his life, however, can be found by reading the Psalms that he wrote. These songs give us glimpses into his deep and intimate relationship with God. They allow us to enter into the ways in which he responded to God’s promises and the hope that God always gave to him in every circumstance of life. Through it all he found his strength in the Lord – II Samuel 22 and Psalm 18.
David did not deny the reality of his feelings, but rather he openly admitted his concerns, his fears, and his failings to the Lord. As he did this, he also moved from his emotions to the truth that he knew about God. That is why he could write: “I love you O LORD, MY STRENGTH. It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. HE makes my feet like the feet of a deer. HE enables me to stand on the heights.” Psalm 18: 1 and 32 – 33
What is the song that you are writing today that expresses the truths that you know about your God?
