So many times as I read the Word of God, my
inadequacies become glaring obvious. As
I read of the perseverance of the “Heroes of Faith,” I find my own
steadfastness sorely lacking. Then as I
begin to dig a little deeper and study a little more, I begin to understand
they were all imperfect people just like me and together we serve a PERFECT
GOD, who is ready to reach down, wrap His everlasting arms around us, set us on
a solid rock and is always faithful. David is such a wonderful example of an
imperfect servant of our perfect God and wasn’t afraid to reveal all of his
wart, bumps, bruises and scars. He
understood life wasn’t really about his failures but about God’s faithfulness.
In Psalms 3:1-2, David writes, “O Lord, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me. 2 Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no deliverance for him in God.” Have
you ever felt like David? I have. Sometimes it seems that you don’t have a
friend in the world that really believes in you. David’s adversaries didn’t even believe that
God would come through for him. Makes
you just want to shrivel up and die, doesn’t it? But David doesn’t stop there, because he had
a faith in God and a history with God that could lift him above what anyone
thought or was saying about him. In
verse 3, David refutes everything his enemies are bringing against him; “But
You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my
head.” David wasn’t king because of his strength,
military prowess or even by birth, it was God who had positioned him to be king,
God who “lifted his head” and all the glory belonged to God. Rise up against him; say whatever you think, David
was confident in the relationship that existed between him and God.
You see, to David it wasn’t
just KNOWLEDGE that God was faithful; it was a deeply rooted truth, he had
experienced from his youth. What did
David do with this knowledge? Verse 5
tells us, “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.” Don’t
you just love it? As Alfred E. Neuman
puts it, “What, me Worry?” With
his knowledge and confidence in God’s faithfulness, David took his worries and
fears, put them in the Lord’s capable hands and went to sleep.
Oh to have that kind of faith and assurance that “If
God is for me, who can be against me.”
Most times we pull out all the
darts Satan is throwing at us, ask God for help, try to figure out how to
soothe the wounds and then wait for the perfect opportunity to throw the darts
right back. If it feels like everything
is against you and there is a widespread belief that even God can’t come
through for you on this one, reach way back and pull out your history. God hasn’t changed!!! Just as He has many
times before, He will come through for you.
He is your Shield, your Glory, and the Lifter of Your Head. Step 2…Lay down; go to sleep and wake up
refreshed for the Lord will sustain you.
Be confident in God’s great love and the relationship you have built
with Him. Along with David you can say, “Worry? I’m going to sleep!”