Psalm 59.16 16 But I will sing of your strength; I will
sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a
fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. (ESV)
We who follow the Lord are called to confidently sing of
God’s strength in the morning: after (or during) the night of distress. Stuff
happens. Trials come. People at work are idiots. The kid blows his hand off. A
bomb detonates in a crowded public place. Criticism comes. Gossip flows. All of
this stuff can hang like a rock around the neck in the evening – at the end of
the day when we’re tired and just want to shut it all out.
David was the target of a jealous (insanely so) monarch.
When a king go whacko, watch out! Every time David succeeded at something, Saul
the king wanted to kill him – so affected was he by David’s success.
So, Saul decided he had to enlist the help of his servants
to kill David which he did; there’s usually some sick sycophant willing to do
dirty deeds done cheap. And David initially ran to his house to hide but
quickly realized: home may be where the heart is, but the street right outside
is where the killers are. So he escaped. And he sang.
It takes a strong person to sing in the midst of trouble –
the kind of trouble where life is at stake. Some sing when they’re mourning.
Some sing when they are rejected by a lover. But to sing when there is no one
else to turn to but God; well that’s singing on another level. And David didn't just sing, he sang confidently of the
Lord’s deliverance in the morning. You have to be pretty confident to sing of
the Lord’s morning deliverance when the killers are right outside the door tonight.
So confident was David in the Lord, he sang.
Part of my everyday life is to still the voice of doubt: will God really come through for me? The
very fact I even acknowledge God in the first place says something. But I’m to
learn to acknowledge God in all things: in
all [my] ways acknowledge Him and He will direct [my] paths. Confidence in
the Lord when the battle is just beginning is seeing the battle already won.
That’s why David could sing: I will sing
aloud of your steadfast love in the morning – even when they were right
outside to kill him. David knew morning would come and he’d be there to enjoy
it.
I’m encouraged today to start singing. There aren't any
major fires at the moment, but one never knows what the day will bring, and to
sing when it is quiet is to prepare for when it’s chaos. And I am to sing
confidently of the Lord and for all the times He’s come through for me; and
those around me who've called on His Name. I’m to sing as if there is a tomorrow even though today is all I
have.
“I will lift my voice to worship You my King. And I will
find my strength in the shadow of Your wings. Your love, oh Lord reaches to the
heavens. Your faithfulness stretches to the sky. Your righteousness is like the
mighty mountains; Your justice flows like the ocean's tide*…” (*Third Day)
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