ARE YOUR PRAYERS INFORMED BY THE WORD OF GOD?

WHAT ARE YOU SINGING TODAY?

Psalm 20

1 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!

May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary

and give you support from Zion!

3 May he remember all your offerings

and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

4 May he grant you your heart's desire

and fulfill all your plans!

5 May we shout for joy over your salvation,

and in the name of our God set up our banners!

May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!

6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;

he will answer him from his holy heaven

with the saving might of his right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

8 They collapse and fall,

but we rise and stand upright.

9 O Lord, save the king!

May he answer us when we call. 

This psalm of David seems to be a song of preparation, as the king went to battle. We find a request to God for His help, confidence in the saving power of the LORD, and total dependence on Him.

The children of Israel, as they sang this inspired song, were reminded of their necessary relationship to God and their need to pray for their king and nation.

Today, our wars are different. We don’t live in a theocratic nation, and

we are not Israel.  But we are still totally dependent on God. If our lives were more similar in dependence, behavior, and trust, then we would certainly conduct our lives in a much more godly way.

Every trial in our lives should be accompanied by much prayer. Our responsibility is to pray fervently and faithfully for those going through trials. We hear of the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ, but often we pray for them just for a minute, or forget to altogether. Why do I know? Because I tend to do that too often, myself.

As the Israelites sang and prayed, they were reminding each other about the power, love, and sovereignty of their God.

They were asking God to come to their aid in times of trouble. Trouble is real and the need of His protection is necessary. In the first verses of the prayer, there is a rehearsal of the life of worship and obedience they had lived. As they sang, I believe they were reminded of the need of faithfulness in their daily lives. Their ability to pray according to God’s sovereign will depended on their daily walk.

We are reminded of these same truths by James:

James 4:2-3

…You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 

And again by John:

1 John 5:13-15

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 

Our prayer life must be informed by the Scriptures. Our prayers should be aligned with God’s purposes and will. How often we pray for God to provide comfort and ease to our life, more than we seek to be made more like Christ and to fulfill our purpose of reaching the lost.

The children of Israel desired that in the day of their salvation it would be clear that God was the One Who would be worshipped and praised.

Their confidence in God was demonstrated by Whom they were trusting, as they went to battle. Their trust was in His name and not in their own strength or abilities. Most people, as they went to war, counted their chariots and their horses. They compared them to the enemies’ assets and went to war, confident in their perceived superiority. God’s people went to war assured of God’s power and aware of their lack of strength. As we read the Old Testament, we are overwhelmed with examples of God leading the Israelites to victory when the odds were against them. We also have the sad examples of times when they relied on their own strength and were soundly defeated.

As you are praying through your trials, are you looking at your resources as cause of discouragement or hope? Are you trusting in human resources, or in the power of God? Are you despairing because your situation seems too overwhelming? Are you looking to people to come to your aid and consequently feeling discouraged or bitter? Are you looking to a relative, friend, or even the government to provide solace for your needs?

The Israelites didn’t seem to learn quickly, but their lessons came frequently, in order to teach them total confidence in God.  Trusting God required that they depend totally on Him for the outcome. They needed to trust the wisdom and ability of God to provide help in their time of trouble.

They knew that in the end, God’s purposes would be fulfilled and that God would be beside them, both during and after their trial.

Where are you today? Is your trust wavering about God’s ability to take care of you? Are you looking at your resources instead of God’s provision? Are you looking at your enemies with bitterness and anger? Are you tempted to think that praying faithfully for those who are going through difficulties is not worth much, and you wish you could do more? Or are you helping your brothers and sisters in Christ to maintain a godly perspective in their trial?

Is your song today a song of dependent worship, or is it a sad song of lament? May your song sound like Psalm 20!

HAVE YOU HEARD A HUNGRY BABY CRY?

READ PSALM 19

YOU OWN A BIBLE! SO WHAT?

Psalm 19:10-14

More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey

and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can discern his errors?

Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;

let them not have dominion over me!

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Do you hold the Word of God in the high esteem it deserves?

The implication, as David concludes this psalm, is that every person needs to recognize his utter dependence upon the input of God’s Word. Does the Word of God hold greater value to you than anything else? Most of us would answer with a resounding ‘Yes!’. But, although we might give mental assent to this question, our daily behavior answers the question with much more clarity and truthfulness.

These verses express the value of the Word to us, based on the amount of desire we have for it, the value we assign to it, and the sheer pleasure we find in it.

The desire we have for the Bible will flesh out in the priority we give to it in our lives.  Our desire for the Word of God is a clear indication of where we are spiritually; in fact, it is a primary sign of being a child of God. Sin and worldliness will always have an effect on our appetite for God’s instructions.

Every decision we make is directed by what we value most. Our desire to get up in the morning and be fed by the Word is indicative of the value we give to its instruction. Our making a priority of going to Bible studies and church exposes the value we assign to being instructed.

As the psalmist compares the Word of God to honey, he is poetically expressing the idea of what kind of soothing benefit he found in it.

In some ways it is true that our desire for, value in, and pleasure we have in the Word depends on our exposure to it and our having learned to appreciate its value.

The psalmist reminds us of the benefits that the Word provides to us. We are warned by it, and in following it we are rewarded. By reading it we are able to evaluate things correctly and know how to make godly decisions. Left to ourselves, we will be quickly driven by our arrogance into presumptuous sins. How easily we can then allow sin to dominate us.

Dear friends, as I look back on my own life, I can see that my darkest moments were accompanied by lack of biblical teaching, lack of meditation on the Scriptures, and consequently, a lack of desire to have the Scriptures bring light to my sin.

At times, when some hear about this kind of dependence and submission to the Word of God, they react negatively, thinking that one is becoming legalistic and radical in his thinking.

David was not legalistic. He had experienced times of sin and desperation, and he had known the pain produced by his sin. He wasn’t a perfect man, but he knew where he could find peace and rest. He knew where he could find true wisdom and protection from his propensity to sin. These words are the result of the forging hand of God in his life.

I don’t know how you measure or evaluate your love for God. But realistically, it seems impossible to make any kind of true evaluation, without measuring your love for His Word.

David says that the ultimate evaluation is done by asking God if one is meeting His standards. In fact, even the way David addresses his God displays the relationship he had with Him.

He calls Him, his Lord, his Rock, and his Redeemer. David knew who his Master was. How could he know his marching orders, if he did not go to His Word? He knew that he lived in a slippery and unstable world and needed a Rock to stand on. He knew that he needed a Redeemer; he was a sinner whose natural tendencies were willful, whose personal ideas were unwise. He needed the WORD!

We would all say that we need the Word. Peter expresses it in a beautiful way.

1 Peter 2:2,3

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Have you ever tried to postpone the feeding of a newborn? Have you ever tried to dissuade a baby from having his milk? The innate desire is unquenchable; it is as evident as the persistent cries we have all heard. The baby might trade a bottle for a pacifier or a finger, but not for long. He knows well the difference in taste and the satisfaction that true nourishment provides.

God uses that image for us to evaluate our love for His Word, and ultimately, if we have tasted the goodness of God through His Word.

The question we should ask ourselves is if our love and desire for the Word, demonstrated by our daily behavior, is acceptable in God’s sight.

Our love for the Word is not demonstrated only by the time we give to its study and meditation, but also for the degree to which we submit to it, allowing it to shape our thinking and our behavior..

May the Lord help us to be honest, as we evaluate this vital aspect of our lives.

AN EXAM WE MUST TAKE ON HOW WE VALUE OUR BIBLE!

READ PSALM 19

THE BIBLE IS NOT JUST A BOOK!

Psalm 19:7-11

The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure,

making wise the simple;

the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure,

enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the Lord is clean,

enduring forever;

the rules of the Lord are true,

and righteous altogether.

As we looked at the first six verses of this amazing psalm about God’s revelation, we reflected on the clarity and beauty of His revelation in creation. This revelation provides enough information to expose the rebelliousness of man and for God to righteously condemn him.

In today’s verses, David provides a succinct presentation of the amazing qualities of the Word of God and its many benefits to man, when he approaches it in humble submission.

The Word of God is perfect, is sure, is right, is pure, is clean, is true, is righteous, and is eternal.

Before looking at these qualities, we should just stop and praise God for His loving care in giving us the law, the testimony, the precepts, the commandment, the fear, and the rules.

Just looking at this list should cause us to be filled with gratitude, as we acknowledge that man would never have been able to imagine or invent the Word of God. Without the Sacred writings we would not know who God is, what He thinks, who we are, or what our destiny is.

We would not be able to evaluate our circumstances, our people, or ourselves. We would not know our boundaries; we would not know how to make moral evaluations or decisions.

We would only know how to promote ourselves, with our lusts and desires. God has been so gracious to provide us with rules, principles, and godly standards.

As we look at the qualities of the Word of God, it becomes clear that they are very different from our human nature, promoting godliness instead. Having the Word of God in our possession has become so “normal” for us that we sometimes lose sight of its extreme value.

We will never hold anything more perfect in our hands, we will never place our trust in anything that is more sure. We will never have to evaluate God’s words to know if they are right, for we could never embrace something more purely righteous, holy, and true. And because its author is the eternal Holy Spirit, it will never become obsolete.

What kind of reverence should we have as we read the Bible? What kind of submission should it require? What kind of attention should it promote? What kind of love should it cause?

The Word’s characteristics and qualities should be sufficient to produce in us a careful evaluation of the way we approach it.

As we read its benefits, we should ask ourselves why we disregard it so often, and why it doesn’t have a place of priority in our daily lives.

The Word of God revives the soul, makes wise the simple; it causes the heart to rejoice, and produces clarity.

Without the Word we would still be dead in our sin, for we could never have known how to be right with God. It is the Word of God that produces faith in God; apart from it we do not even know Him. There is no true wisdom to be learned apart from the truth of the Scriptures. There is no other information or pursuit that can produce lasting joy. There is nothing else by which we can evaluate life and its problems.

This is what the Word of God is, its qualities and its benefits! Are you wondering now why you do not give more time to its study? Are you asking yourself why it’s not your first source of reference and information? Are you disappointed that it’s not guiding your evaluations and reactions to circumstances and people? Are you ashamed that you are not submitted to it? Are you rebuked that it’s not the subject you most often speak about to your family and friends? Have you allowed the cares of the world to turn the values of your life upside down?

I realize, as I meditate on these truths, that there needs to be a different kind of response to the vital necessity of thinking deeply upon God’s Word in my own life. When we look at the ending verses of Psalm 19, we will each need to ask ourselves what kind of responses we should have to them.

For today, it may be a good idea to spend time in grateful prayer for the precious gift of the Holy Bible you have in your home.

THE SKIES CANNOT LEAVE US INDIFFERENT!

READ PSALM 19

WE LIVE EACH DAY IN VIEW OF THE IMMENSE GRACE OF GOD

Psalm 19:1-6

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words,

whose voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.

In them he has set a tent for the sun,

which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,

and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

Its rising is from the end of the heavens,

and its circuit to the end of them,

and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

We have all been mesmerized by the beauty of a sunrise. When we lived in Florida, God blessed us with a beautiful view over the water. Every morning, the sunrise was spectacular and different. Every day, everywhere, nature proclaims the existence and power of God. Every evening, as the sun sets with its beautiful colors, God is declaring His amazing power and grace.

God’s creation uses no audible words, but its communication is loud and clear. This communication has continued throughout the years, and it will not cease until Christ returns. No man has ever lived at any time or in any place, where God’s revelation through nature has not been plainly visible.

No one escapes this revelation, nor does he escape judgment of his response to the display of God’s power and worthiness of praise.

Genesis 1:1-5

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

God created all from nothing, and He truly created it in six 24-hour days. Man, in his arrogant unbelief, has tried to explain the formation of the world without God. His perceived knowledge has proven him to be a fool, and is inviting the perfect judgment of God.

Romans 1:18-23

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

We cannot forget that, although nature is sufficient to declare the existence of the Creator and the necessity for man to honor, submit, and worship Him, it is not communicative enough to bring salvation.

We have the daily responsibility to present and live the Gospel before a rebellious world. We have the privilege to present the solution to the sins that every man has committed before God by not recognizing Him as their God.

The beauty of the creation of God is inescapable. Daily it is declaring to us God’s power. As you and I watch nature declaring this creative and sustaining power of God, how are we spending our allotted time? Have we allowed the business of our lives, the problems we face, the people we encounter, to distract us so much that we are not living in awe of God’s amazing power?

We are not self-made men, we are not self-sustaining men. We live each day in view of the immense grace of God. So may our days reflect these simple truths and be filled with grateful worship, as we invite an unbelieving world to worship the God we love and serve.

CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THE TRIALS?

READ PSALM 18

WE NEED TO KEEP IN MIND GOD’S ETERNAL PURPOSES

PSALM 18:49,50

For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,

and sing to your name.

Great salvation he brings to his king,

and shows steadfast love to his anointed,

to David and his offspring forever.

David ends this psalm with this wonderful couple of verses. He begins with “For this cause”. We have reviewed the cause in the previous verses.

God is the one who gives David strength; He is his fortress, rock, and deliverer. He is his salvation, his stronghold, shield, and his refuge.

God listens to him. He is powerful without any rivals. His word is without limits. He is the One who rescues him. God is his support and chooses to delight in his creature. He deals with him in righteousness. God revealed his statutes so that David could walk in them.

God showed Himself to be merciful, blameless, and pure. He was David’s light in dark moments. From God he received his strength. His Word was trustworthy. God was like no one else. He had the right answer and solution for every event. He was righteous in the way He dealt with David’s enemies.

His God is alive! He is faithful, through and through!

This is why David was praising his God.

Are you praising God at this time: for your health, your job or lack of one, for your spouse and children and parents, for your friends, for your pastor, for your enemies, for your circumstances, for what you have and do not have? Is your God the same One David knew? 

David’s praise was evident and sincere. David sang to the name of God. God’s name describes His character, His qualities, His works. In other words, David was satisfied with who God is and what He was doing. God has shown Himself worthy and faithful to David and to his offspring forever.

Romans 15:8-13

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,

and sing to your name.”

And again it is said,

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,

and let all the peoples extol him.”

And again Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse will come,

even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;

in him will the Gentiles hope.”

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

God’s plan was and is that His children will glorify Him. His work deserves our praise. Have we become so self-focused that we have lost sight of the work that God is doing?

The Father chose us so that we would praise Him.

Ephesians 1:6

to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

The Son died for us so that we would praise the Father.

Ephesians 1:12

so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

The Holy Spirit sealed us so that the Father would be praised eternally.

Ephesians 1:13-14

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Has God done this for you and me? Is our life reflecting these truths?

If we are not having this kind of response, then we are allowing our thoughts to take us in the wrong direction.

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Because of Christ, our praise should be loud and clear!

Hebrews 13:15

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

The Apostle Peter brings us to a culmination.

1 Peter 1:3-9

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

God is testing our faith. The way we respond exposes whether or not our faith is genuine. It is a grace of God to help us evaluate if we are truly believers and we truly love Him.

Trials hurt; God does not hide this. But trials last only a short time, compared to eternity. Our responses to trials show us and others what we truly value.

Trials are not something to avoid or to complain about; they are the meticulous work of God on us for our good and His glory. God is worthy of our praise forever!

DO YOU FEEL IGNORED BY GOD? YOUR FEELINGS ARE WRONG!

READ PSALM 18 

ARE YOU A LIVING AS A CHILD OF THE KING?

For who is God, but the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God?—

the God who equipped me with strength

and made my way blameless.

He made my feet like the feet of a deer

and set me secure on the heights.

He trains my hands for war,

so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You have given me the shield of your salvation,

and your right hand supported me,

and your gentleness made me great.

You gave a wide place for my steps under me,

and my feet did not slip.

I pursued my enemies and overtook them,

and did not turn back till they were consumed.

I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;

they fell under my feet.

For you equipped me with strength for the battle;

you made those who rise against me sink under me.

You made my enemies turn their backs to me,

and those who hated me I destroyed.

They cried for help, but there was none to save;

they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.

I beat them fine as dust before the wind;

I cast them out like the mire of the streets.

David, all through this psalm, has reminded us of the necessity to go through trials well: to trust faithfully, even while we do not see the end of our difficulty, to rejoice in the work that God is doing in us, and to ultimately come closer to God.

Is it worth it? Can God really come through? Is God going to give me the necessary strength? Am I going to fall apart? I feel like giving up now, but will I make it?

In our section today, David reminds us that when we trust the LORD, we are trusting the only true God! He is the all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent God of the universe. He is the creator and sustainer of all. He is the rock where we have planted our feet.

He does not reveal our future to us because He wants us to trust Him today. He does not give us strength for tomorrow because we do not need it yet. He wants us close, secure in His arms.

David reminds us that God equips us with the strength we need.  He gives us the strength and the knowledge through His Word to go through our trials well! Even though the path seems slippery, He will keep us from falling. We are not going to be submerged, for God knows how to keep us above ground. Our wise God has our best in mind. His plan is not for us to fail; His plan is for Him to triumph in us.

God is the One who prepares us. Dear friends, in His Word, in faithful believers who walk beside us, in the local church we find the strength to go through the hard times of life. God is strong enough to shield and protect us through the trial, and gentle enough to care about what we need in order to go through the trial well.

God is there to make our way stable, to help us engage our enemies in a godly way. God’s intention is to display His glory. Our enemies and the people who are watching us go through the trial are going to be surprised at God’s work in us, if we remain faithful.

Victory in trial is for God to be exalted and for God’s purposes to be achieved. Do we trust God enough to accept and desire the outcome that He wants?

God has saved us, and He has planned eternity for us. His enemies will be defeated. In due time, God will show His strength. In the meanwhile, He is giving us the necessary strength to go through our storms!

Psalm 18:43-48

You delivered me from strife with the people;

you made me the head of the nations;

people whom I had not known served me.

As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;

foreigners came cringing to me.

Foreigners lost heart

and came trembling out of their fortresses.

The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,

and exalted be the God of my salvation—

the God who gave me vengeance

and subdued peoples under me,

who delivered me from my enemies;

yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;

you rescued me from the man of violence.

David saw God give him deliverance and allow him to defeat his enemies. David never forgot that it was God who did it.

The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,

and exalted be the God of my salvation—

Shouldn’t this be our song today? Are we acknowledging with our lives that God is alive and in control? Does our demeanor proclaim a loving and powerful God who deserves our worship? Or are we losing sight of the fact that we are saved children of the God of the universe? God has only one kind of children: the ones He loves, for whom His Son died, and whom He is intently and carefully guiding through the difficulties of life, to mature and cause to become like His wonderful Son, Whom He has loved from eternity past and will love forever and ever.

If you are feeling like an ignored child? Then you are believing a lie! Allowing your thoughts to guide you into untruths will only produce ingratitude and sin! May we live as children of God, worthy of the name we bear!

GOD IS KEEPING YOU CLOSE!

READ PSALM 18

HUMAN REASONING WILL NEVER TAKE YOU TO GOD OR GIVE YOU PEACE

Psalm 18:16-19

He sent from on high, he took me;

he drew me out of many waters.

He rescued me from my strong enemy

and from those who hated me,

for they were too mighty for me.

They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the LORD was my support.

He brought me out into a broad place;

he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

David has been an example of how those who trust in God endure trials. His heart had remained faithful to his LORD. He knew that God was well aware of his trouble. The time of the trial was not a matter of lack of care by his loving God, but it was God knowing what was best during those times.

In His perfect timing, God had rescued him. Yes, David knew that his foes were too strong for him to conquer; all he could do was trust the LORD and be patient during the trial.  David recognizes that he was confronted by powerful enemies during the time of adversity. He knew his situation was beyond his strength to change, but not beyond his ability to endure. For David knew, all through the trials, that the LORD was His Rescuer, and would continue to support him.

During our trials, too, God is providing the grace to endure them. The trials may seem to overwhelm us, but God is actively showing us His grace and providing the strength to endure. The Apostle Paul had learned this lesson.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 

            So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

           

Paul had received the trial he was enduring in order to protect him from sin. God had allowed the difficulty to come from Satan, himself. Even though Satan was the author, God’s decision not to restrain him was part of His sovereign plan, not a lack of power to stop him. God’s ultimate goal was to demonstrate His power through the weakness of Paul and the grace that He was providing throughout the trial.

God’s grace provides a great testimony to those who do not know Him, when it is displayed in the life of the believer. As you endure a trial, God desires to display His grace through you.

Psalm 18:20-24

The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness;

according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

For I have kept the ways of the LORD,

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

For all his rules were before me,

and his statutes I did not put away from me.

I was blameless before him,

and I kept myself from my guilt.

So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

As David continues to pen this wonderful psalm, he describes his behavior through the trials. He remained righteous, his deeds were pleasing to God, his faithfulness continued, He continued to keep his eyes on the laws of God, and he was blameless before God. As we read these verses, we cannot forget that David’s ability to react in a godly way was not because of his own strength, but because of the faithfulness of God.

Psalm 18:25-30

With the merciful you show yourself merciful;

with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

with the purified you show yourself pure;

and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.

For you save a humble people,

but the haughty eyes you bring down.

For it is you who light my lamp;

the LORD my God lightens my darkness.

For by you I can run against a troop,

and by my God I can leap over a wall.

This God—his way is perfect;

the word of the LORD proves true;

he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

How wonderful to see that God shows His mercy to those who are merciful, He shows Himself without blame with those who walk blamelessly, He proves to be pure with those who are pure in their ways. It is interesting that God does not show Himself in the same way to those who walk crookedly.

God is watching, and in due time He will save the humble and bring low the proud. James reminds us of this truth.

James 4:6-10

            But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Responding with humility through trials not only attracts the pleasure of God, but it also provides a protection from sin. We may have every assurance that, in due time, God will respond righteously.

The psalmist shows us that his behavior was the result of trusting God. He began by knowing God’s Word and trusting it. As he went through dark moments, he did not resort to his feelings or human thoughts to bring understanding, but he went to the Word of God. Anything other than the Word of God does not shed light, but brings only more darkness to the matter.

The obstacles were humanly insurmountable, but with God’s help they could be conquered. As David followed the instructions found in Law of God, the LORD proved Himself to be trustworthy. All too often, we have later realized the truthfulness of God’s Word, because we see the devastation from following our own ways, and the consequences of our own sin.

We have a choice: we can rest in God and find the peace and grace available in His protection, or we can experience the weight of sinful responses and live with regret. I am grateful that even those sins of my past that have proved to me how foolish I was not to have trusted God and His Word, are today a reminder to trust God continually and faithfully.

We know David’s life, and we know that he also learned in those same ways. May we make wise decisions when we are confronted with the trials of life! One way or the other, God will bring His own close to Him!