READ: Psalm 18
BACKGROUND: This is a Psalm written by David upon the occasion of him being saved from the hand of Saul, who kept trying to kill him, after Saul died and David’s own kingship was able to be established. It is intended to be sung by a choir.
THINK: I cannot help but read this Psalm and be reminded, every time I hit verse 46, of the camp songs that I sang growing up. The band, Petra, made this verse into a popular Christian Rock song in the 90’s called “I will Call Upon the Lord.” If you have a real hankering for 90’s Christian rock you can check out some live performances on YouTube. The lyrics are simple enough. They basically quote the verse and say, “I will call upon the Lord, and so shall I be saved from my enemies. The Lord liveth, and blessed be the Rock, and may the God of my salvation be exalted.”
Strangely, though, as I reminisced about my camp experiences while listening to Petra I started to wonder how often in my life I call upon the Lord when times are rough. When I am frustrated and beat up by the world – like David was when he wrote down this Psalm – is God the first place I turn? If I’m honest, the answer to that question isn’t always yes. I often try to handle things on my own and fix the situation myself. Or I turn to friends and family members to help me out. Sometimes, unfortunately, I treat prayer like a last resort. If everything else fails and I absolutely can’t do it on my own then finally I’ll turn to prayer.
I think King David did just the opposite. He knew that he couldn’t handle the storms of life on his own. He knew that he couldn’t save himself from the destruction his enemies would bring. And so he prayed! He went to God confident that God would hear him and answer his prayers and bring about his salvation. God was his rock – the very foundation his life was built upon.
We would do well to follow in David’s footsteps. We can be confident – no matter what situation we find ourselves in – that our God is alive! And he is our foundation and our rock! And he hears our prayers and delivers us!
ASK: When I find myself in difficult and frustrating situations, where is the first place I turn?
throughin2.com 