"Lord, how many...!-- But You, Lord...." (Psalm 3, NIV)
David is saying to God that he has, "many...foes!" He is saying, "How many rise up against me!" He is saying that others say of him, "God will not deliver him." In short, "I have many who oppose me, are against me; I am in deep trouble." Then he says, however, "But You, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head."
It really sounds quite simple, doesn't it? The world around you is falling apart. Maybe you feel as though you are falling apart, feeling deep down that you are all alone, perhaps even have those who mock, or at least seem to mock you in your devastation. "The sweet psalmist of Israel," came to the conclusion which is open to and for us all, "But You, Lord...." Yet while the words seem simple enough to read, hear, and say, the application, the out-working, the written-on-the-heart can be another battle all together.
I encourage you today to renew your faith in, "But You, Lord Jesus, are my hope, my stay, my life," or as David later declares, "....my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in Whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." If you find it a fight to say such words, go to His Word, read, confess, shout if you have to, but as Paul said, "Hold fast (or, "take possession of") the confession of our hope without wavering, for He Who promised is Faithful."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray for my friend that if they are in a battle, in depression, discouragement, even the object of mocking, that they know of a certainty, "But You, Lord are a shield around [them, their] glory, the One Who lifts [their] head." Amen.
David is saying to God that he has, "many...foes!" He is saying, "How many rise up against me!" He is saying that others say of him, "God will not deliver him." In short, "I have many who oppose me, are against me; I am in deep trouble." Then he says, however, "But You, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head."
It really sounds quite simple, doesn't it? The world around you is falling apart. Maybe you feel as though you are falling apart, feeling deep down that you are all alone, perhaps even have those who mock, or at least seem to mock you in your devastation. "The sweet psalmist of Israel," came to the conclusion which is open to and for us all, "But You, Lord...." Yet while the words seem simple enough to read, hear, and say, the application, the out-working, the written-on-the-heart can be another battle all together.
I encourage you today to renew your faith in, "But You, Lord Jesus, are my hope, my stay, my life," or as David later declares, "....my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in Whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." If you find it a fight to say such words, go to His Word, read, confess, shout if you have to, but as Paul said, "Hold fast (or, "take possession of") the confession of our hope without wavering, for He Who promised is Faithful."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray for my friend that if they are in a battle, in depression, discouragement, even the object of mocking, that they know of a certainty, "But You, Lord are a shield around [them, their] glory, the One Who lifts [their] head." Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
