What does it mean to rest in a holy confidence in God? Our subject Psalm highlights David’s experience in this area. It is believed that he wrote Psalm during his flight from his son Absalom who staged a coup to overthrow his father as king of Israel (2 Sam 15-18). He had to contend with enemies without and from within (doubt). Here are few observations of David’s response to trial that we can learn about being steadfast in faith during seasons of difficulty:
You are not hopeless. The allied forces of Absalom had driven David from the palace and surrounded him. David did not turn a blind eye to the threat in front of him but rather faced it with both eyes open. He even perceived their assessment of his situation as hopeless, thus, “…many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.”
There are things that occur in our lives are sometimes due to sinful actions and others of no fault of our own (cf. Jn 9:1-3). To add insult to injury, we can have people around us that are overly critical, hateful, and even envious of us that view our situation as hopeless. There are some who secretly wish for and await for our fall. We should remember, no matter how grim our situations seem, we are not without hope. It is not our ability to leverage our skills and talents to deliver us that makes this reality true, but rather, it is because of who we are and who we belong to…that is God. We have a Father in heaven, and we are his adopted children who inherit the promised found in our Savior (Rom 8:14-17). He is our protector and preservers our lives both now and eternally. He restores our souls and lifts us out of our shame and murkiness of our earthly circumstances. Like David, we should fix our attention on the character of God who is for us, “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head” (v3). We look to God who restores dignity of righteousness to us through Christ. David being a sinner did not change who he was in God. Neither do our earthly children cease from being our children when they make mistakes or hurt by pitfalls.
You are an Overcomer. David cries out to God for help in one of his darkest hours, “I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill” (v4). His confidence in the salvation of God produced peace in his heart. He trusted God to sustain him, “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me” (v5).”
When we seek God in this way, we are able to have peace in the midst of troubles. This is possible because the peace that God gifts us with is not found in anything we have access to in the earth, for it is not of this world, but comes from Heaven above and takes up residence inside of us by the power of the Spirit (Jn 14:27). We can have peace in the storm, like Jesus sleeping in the stern of the boat during major storm (Mt 8:23-27, Mk 4:37-41). Troubles will be many in this life. Solomon observes, “So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many” (Ecc 11:8). Jesus also added, “…In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world.” Because of he overcame, so have we.
Trust vanquishes fear. David says, “I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around” (v6). His faith in the character and promises of God produced such trust. His faith hinged on two truths about God:
- God would ultimately exercise judgment and carry out justice all matters. Some of this we experience in this life with the majority of it we will receive as an inheritance upon his Return. Though we cry out within our souls, “How long O God?,” we are not called by God to be navy seal like Christians, but rather with a broken and contrite people highly dependent on our Savior. We patiently endure by holding fast to our faith in and keeping the commands of God (cf. Rev 14:12).
- True Salvation Comes Only from God. Though we experience illness, infirmities, financial struggles, interpersonal relationship issues, backslidings, struggles with sin, death & loss, etc…these things can make us feel like everything is out of control and God does not see what we are going through. Be assured that he does see, and Jesus is not waiting to reign over creation upon his second return. He rules and is full control NOW in our lives (1 Pt 3:22, Heb 1:3-4).
In the midst of storms, let us look to the Holy Hill where our help comes from, and cry out to God day and night for Christ who is the true blessing upon his people. Amen.