Verse of the Day 2/18

Psalm 57:7-8   My heart is steadfast, O God,
    my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
⁸     Awake, my glory!^a
Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn!  English Standard Version (ESV)

Today's verses from Psalm 57, along with verses 5 and 11 which read "be exalted, O God, above the heavens!  Let your glory be over all the earth" are some of the most glorious words of praise that we'll find in the Bible.  What it remarkable about them are the circumstances in which they are uttered.  David at the time is running (and hiding) from King Saul who is out to kill him.  At the beginning of the psalm he indicates that he feels as if he is being trampled on (v.3), that he is in the midst of lions and fiery beast with sharp teeth and sharper tongues,  that are out to get him.  Traps have been set for him, pits have been dug.  What is he to do, what does he do?  He gives praise, shouts praise, sings praise.

By the wording it appears that he may be approaching the end of a sleepless night and is now ready to face the dawn with a daunting day in front of him, but he chooses to offer praise.  How can a person, how does a future king, face the situation.  He turns it over to God, "seeks shelter in the shadow of His wings".  He draws near, and stays near to God through the night and faces the morning with courage, faith and hope.

Just prior to reading this I "just happened" to read a devotional from James MacDonald that had the heading "When It's Hard to Hope" from John chapter 5 with the story of a man who had been waiting and hoping for healing, for a miracle by the pool of Bethesda.  The crippled man had had many emotional ups and downs when the waters and his heart were stirred with hope only to be let down.  Now his time for healing had come, his hope had arrived in the person of Jesus.

MacDonald writes, "As Christians, we know that no matter how many peaks and valleys we go through in life, this whole thing is heading fast toward a massive, forever celebration. We're fired up about that, and we look forward to it!  The world sees only a hopeless end; Christ-followers see an endless hope. And this hope lives not just in eternity, but here and now as God meets needs, answers prayer, carries burdens, forgives sin, changes lives, and increases joy as we journey to that endless hope.

That one small sentence describes what Jesus brings and what David had seen back in the cave.  Both situations seemed hopeless by the world's standards.  "The world sees only a hopeless end; Christ-followers see an endless hope."

What are you facing today that may have caused you to lose sleep?  Turn it over to the Lord, offer prayers, but also offer praise in hope, in faith.  "Be ready head to toe"  (The Message) to waken the dawn with it, and keep that endless hope.

Blessings,

Mike

Psalm 57:6-11The Message (MSG)

⁶ They booby-trapped my path;
    I thought I was dead and done for.
They dug a mantrap to catch me,
    and fell in headlong themselves.

^7-8 I'm ready, God, so ready,
    ready from head to toe,
Ready to sing, ready to raise a tune:
    "Wake up, soul!
Wake up, harp! wake up, lute!
    Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!"

^9-10 I'm thanking you, God, out loud in the streets,
    singing your praises in town and country.
The deeper your love, the higher it goes;
    every cloud is a flag to your faithfulness.

¹¹ Soar high in the skies, O God!
    Cover the whole earth with your glory!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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