Psalm 16:1-2 and 7-9 - Keep me safe, O God, for in you
I take refuge. I said to
the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good
thing."
I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even
at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because
he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and
my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure.
Even as David cried out one moment for God to be his refuge ….he
boasted the next about his love for him…even praising him for all he had done .
His temporary sadness was always replaced with an inner peace and joy that only
comes from a deep relationship with God. As he allowed God to wash the fear and
uncertainty from his soul… he stood in awe of the life he had been given so
far. The presence of God in his heart led to a deep contentment …to wait…no
matter what.
I couldn’t help but wonder…if David had somehow managed to
take some of God’s word with him in the caves he hid…or if all of his
scriptural knowledge had been memorized. I tend to lean toward the concept that
David had nothing but what he had hidden in his heart…just as he wrote in Psalm
119:11. Somehow he had managed to
capture what he needed for God to recall it to his mind …exactly when he needed
it.
David knew that everything he had been given in the past…and
everything that would be done for him in the future…came from God above…a
precious gift that he appreciated…no matter what circumstance he was in at the
present. He… like Paul had learned to be content in whatever circumstances God
placed him. Philippians 4:12 says… “I know what it is to be in need, and I know
what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any
and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in
want.”
The secret to this concept is concentrating more on our
relationship with God …than the material manifestations that he provides to us
in any season of our life. The happiness we feel from receiving the material
blessings of life are temporary…they fade away as soon as that new phone screen
cracks…or the first dent is placed in the door of the new car we parked at
Walmart. The giddiness we feel as we unwrap those presents under the tree…fade
as we begin to clean up the mess of wrapping paper that invaded our clean
living room.
The joy we begin to infuse in our heart from time with the
father…never leaves us. It becomes a rechargeable
battery of hope and trust and faith in something we can’t see….when the tangible
blessings are taken away for a time. The scripture we have hidden in our hearts
become the exact words we need to kick satan to the curb when he attacks the joy
God wants to be a permanent fixture of our soul. Happiness is just a fleeting
feeling…but the joy we can receive from our constant visits with God…..will fill
our hearts with the insights we need to sustain us through the harder times of
life.
Father…I thank you for the time you allow me to spend with
you each evening and morning. You have
been my refuge so many times when I have failed to see your hand of provision
on my life. And what is even more amazing is that you have done this for me
even when I did not ask…or even tried to run from your love. Thank you father for your constant love….that
has helped me to understand more of who you are ..and how you can sustain me
through whatever you allow satan to throw in my pathway. Help me to internalize even more scripture in
my heart…so that when satan comes to try and steal that permanent joy you have given
me…I will know exactly what scripture will shut him up and send him away. Thank
you for all you have done for me…and helping me through some really tough
times. Show me how to help others with
the knowledge of life’s hurts you have helped me through. Amen.
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