PSALM 57:1-3 – Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness.”
Have we ever been in a trying circumstance, a tough situation, a difficult season of life and God seems disinterested in us, detached from hearing our prayers, and frankly, doesn’t appear to be offering a whole lot of assistance to us? We may not voice our impatience with Him verbally, but, really, what Christian hasn’t felt what I described in the opening sentence? We do enter those hard times and wonder if God is really there, or if He is, doesn’t He really care? Well, today’s Psalm gives us some help and hope in such seasons. And what we will see is the God who acts mightily in the lives of His children, but there is a prerequisite to recognize His workings in our lives.
The first thing we find the Psalmist doing is casting himself upon his God. The storms of life are overwhelming him and he knows where he must run and hide-in You my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. If we hope to see the hand of God acting on our behalf during the storms of life, position ourselves to discern His word; abandon ourselves to His Person and rest confidently He will act. And act He will.
In the storms of life, God is fulfilling His purposes for us-to God who fulfills his purpose for me. Do we realize God does some of His best work, fulfilling His purpose of making us like Jesus, in the raging storms of life? Remember the disciples at sea. Did they not learn a lot about themselves and the Lord Jesus when the waves were crashing into their boat? Same with us. God’s purposes are at work in life’s storms.
Next, God will fulfill the work He started in us–He will send from heaven and save me. This does not mean God is going to deliver us from every dangerous thing in this world, but He has promised to deliver us from our greatest danger–sin. And He did send from heaven to save us. His name is Jesus. The God who has acted from eternity past to this present day and into the future to finish the work of salvation in us will complete it. His Word affirms it. His Person assures it.
Finally, the God who acts in our lives will come to us in the power of His steadfast love and faithfulness to calm our fears, quiet our minds, and give rest of heart in the raging storms of life–God will send out His steadfast love and His faithfulness.
Yes, God acts. It might not be on our timetable, but He does. He will fulfill His purposes for us, the work He started in us, and in the process sustain us by His wonderful and powerful love and faithfulness.
PRAYER: “Father, I so praise You for being my God who is active in my life each and every day.”
QUOTE: “Cast yourself upon your God who is never passive to the cries and needs of His people.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim