Tonight is one of those nights where I find myself very deep in thought, and feel the need to share some insights and ideas on my blog. Tonight, I have been challenged with the amazing truth we can find in the Sovereignty, faithfulness, and steadfast love of God, and just how evident that is. You know those moments when you come across something and you can’t help but respond by saying wow, leaving you speechless thereafter. That is the power of God’s word! I was reading through Psalm 40 and came across a couple passages that really struck me as wow moments tonight, so I wanted to share.
Psalm 40:11-17 says,
11As for you, O Lord,
you will not restrain your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
ever preserve me!
12 For evils have encompassed me
beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.
13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God! [1]
I was taken aback by the power and of these words from the psalmist. The idea that God’s love and faithfulness will preserve, even amongst all the storms that life throws at me. Even when I fail, and when I screw up to the point that I can’t see what is right and what is not, God’s love and faithfulness preserves me. The psalmist then goes on to ask for help. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time asking for help sometimes. I like to fix all the problems and do it my way, someone else’s way my complicate everything! I can’t begin to imagine what God feels like when we are always doing our own thing, even though he has already planned our life. Why am I not seeking God for deliverance from my enemies, from my struggles, from my pain? Why am I so ignorant, that I can’t realize the help I need to survive?
My favorite part of this verse comes at the end, when the Psalmist says, “As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.” wow….I honestly couldn’t say any more to that. Why, might you ask? Because I am that person. I am poor and needy. I will NOT survive unless I realize that God is my help and my deliverer. People around me might temporarily encourage or sustain, but I can rely on no one but Christ.
I hope my rambling has spoken to you in some way, and if not, I hope it has encouraged you to at least look at the scripture with a new light. One that isn’t just reading it to read, or studying it to study, but with an attitude of “I need help!” or, “God, I need to be delivered from this sin in my life!” Because when we can approach God with a willing heart, the return is phenomenal. God will respond, we just fail to let him most of the time.
Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie![2]- Psalm 40:4
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