GOD IS KEEPING YOU CLOSE!

Responding with humility to 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.

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 or of carelessness 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 through the trial.

God’s grace provides a great testimony for 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 that is different from 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 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 learned in those same ways, also. 

May we make wise decisions as we are confronted with the trials of life! 

One way or the other, God will bring His own close to Him!