”I just want to obey all you ask of me
So teach me, Lord, for you are my God.
Your gracious Spirit is all I need, so lead me on good paths
that are pleasing to you, my one and only God!”
(Psalm 143:10 TPT)
I am frequently amazed at how well the psalms sum up my mood or emotions and feelings.
I also think it has given me a better understanding of David as warrior and later king than any of the books the recorded his actions and the history surrounding him. Is this the same giant slayer that feels the crushing weight of the world?
”Lord, come quickly and answer me,
for my depression deepens
and I am about to give up.
Don’t leave me now or I’ll die”
(Psalm 143:7 TPT)
Is he not superhuman? Bigger and better than all of us?
I understand David when he cries out:
”Now I’m reaching out to you, thirsting for you like the the dry, cracked ground thirsts for rain!”(Psalm 143:6 TPT)
I understand David better, but it also highlights (with a very bright light) where David and I differ. I don’t have the confidence that comes from slaying giants and killing lions, because my prayers are feeble: “Lord, I just want to ask” or ”Lord if it is in your will”
David cries out:
”LORD, you MUST hear my prayer!”
”ANSWER MY CRY, O righteous God!”
As my son says: David “understood the assignment”!
But maybe it is the other way around? Maybe David’s confidence to go to God so boldly did not come from fighting bears & lions and slaying giants and their kings? But his courage to do those things came from the time he spent with God?
I watched my kids go onto a stage yesterday to show off their talents at a public event in a shopping mall. Confidence was not great, but the courage of one fuelled the courage of the other so that both could, at the end, overcome. You are here with me, so I can do it.
David’s mighty men followed Him.
I think he fuelled their courage as well. For sure because he would stand in front of Goliath, but more so, he was constantly standing before God. With praise and pain, with joy and utter depression. He led them into battle but he also led them to God. He did not tell them to. He went, they saw… and followed.
Who we are matters. Especially to those looking up at us to see how we are going to get through this. But what matters more is where we find our strength and why we continue to fight the good fight.
When the sun sets, do we reach for our favourite drink (just to take the edge off) like we see in every movie and tv show? or could we do like Jesus (and David) and withdraw from the crowds to be with the Father to refresh, refill and then rest in His comfort? Prepared for tomorrow’s battles…
Psalms hey?! It’s the good stuff!
Be blessed!
