Most of us
have never experienced serious suffering for our faith. Most of us do not
normally have days filled with tremendous pain and difficulty. But our days are
filled with struggles, temptations, frustrations, inconveniences, and problems
that may seem insignificant to others. Actually our days are very ordinary in one sense. They are filled with daily stresses: changing diapers, going to work, just making it through the day.
This is what
David wrote and sang to the Lord when the Lord delivered him from the hand of
all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. It is a summary thanksgiving for
God’s many deliverances of David through his long life of service.
God called
David a man after His own heart (and David was an adulterer and murderer; one
wonders what David would have been called if he had done worse or more).
Is God only marginal in your life? What
is it you are really living for? It is not too likely David would have been called a man after God’s
heart if God was marginal in his life.
David’s life
seemed to have the normal troubles of life before he was anointed to be king,
but it was after that his troubles seemed to increase. His loyalty to Saul only
seemed to make things worse. He never sought the kingdom; he never plotted to
be king. He would spare Saul’s life only to have Saul seek to kill him. His
troubles were not ordinary in the sense that the most powerful man in the land
sought his life. He lived from day to day not knowing if he would die each day
(1 Sam 18:3).
What do you do, where do
you go when life seems too much; especially when you did not directly cause it?
This is a song
of rejoicing over deliverance, many deliverances. He could look back and see
the gracious hand of God leading, protecting, and caring for him. So what is
going on in the midst of these struggles, difficulties, and pressures?
Psalm 18 is an
example of constructive introspection by David. He does not gloss over the
difficult moments of his life, but rather describes each in the context of
God’s loving care and rescue. If introspection is guided by an understanding
that God acts redemptively in our lives, even past mistakes or injuries don’t
have to be occasions for regret, but rather opportunities to give thanks and
live differently in the present.
However,
there needs to be a certain foundation in place to learn what God is like in
the struggles of life.
- This passage is for true believers
in Christ – 20-24
These verses help us understand that
David was in right relationship with God. He could count on God to take care of
him because he belonged to the Lord. So this passage is for true believers in
Christ.
- These promises are for growing
believers – 25-26
The levels of
relationship with Jesus: as I pursue faithfulness I discover how trustworthy He
is; as I pursue completeness in Christ, I discover how sufficient He really is;
as I pursue purity, I learn how extensive His holiness really is; but when I
live out of my fallen, sinful nature and do things my way, I break fellowship
with Him.
God really does get involved in the
lives of His children.
Next time:
What is the first thing to understand about the ordinary routine mundane and sometimes meaningless struggles of life?
No comments:
Post a Comment