Thursday, July 21, 2022
A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident. One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me. When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, O LORD, I shall seek." Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation! For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the LORD will take me up. Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a level path Because of my foes. Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD. Psalms 27:1-14
The Best Way to Wait
The beginning of a trial often brings trauma and the end may bring relief. It’s the middle of the trial that brings the real test of our faith. How do we handle waiting?
Our culture is not patient about much of anything and waiting for God to answer our prayer is certainly not something we are good at. Our realization that God can do anything just complicates things more. Why does He not answer when we so earnestly plead with Him? Why must we wait?
One thing that we are good at is worry. We find ourselves focusing on the problem and our limited resources. Mulling over options, we weary ourselves trying to figure out how we can resolve our issue. Our minds whir and spin and we are distracted from our life and relationships. And we can do this for hours, even days and weeks. Yes, we are good at worry.
It’s prayer that we are not good at. Prayer is focusing on God and on His resources and power. Prayer is recalling the promises of God and resting in them. Prayer is releasing the problem to Him and waiting for His instruction and deliverance. How do we do that? In Psalm 27, David points us to prayer over worry.
All of the emotions you may have felt while waiting for God to answer in a desperate situation are probably addressed in his song to God. Reread the Psalm and see if God won’t begin to quiet your spirit and guide your thoughts away from the chaos and toward His peace and promise.
More often than not, we fret and worry over the unknown. God does not show us the future, but His presence in it. He IS LIGHT and STRENGTH. There are those whose focus on themselves and the problem causes them to “feel a thousand deaths in fearing one.” There are some to whom nothing has to happen to be defeated, for just the “possibility” of trouble creates the experience of trouble.
David shows us the way to preparing to pray – getting a proper perspective of who God truly is. Focus on God and see Him in His power. Get a realistic perspective on yourself and your enemy as you bow in prayer.
May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high! May He send you help from the sanctuary And support you from Zion! May He remember all your meal offerings And find your burnt offering acceptable! Selah. May He grant you your heart's desire And fulfill all your counsel! Psalms 20:1-4
