Psalms 3:5-8

⁵ I can lie down to rest and know that I will wake up,
    because the Lord covers and protects me.
⁶ So I will not be afraid of my enemies,
    even if thousands of them surround me.

⁷ Lord, get up!
    My God, come rescue me!
If you hit my enemies on the cheek,
    you will break all their teeth.

⁸ Lord, the victory is yours!
    You are so good to your people. Selah   

I’m guilty.  When things fall to pieces I try to fix them without considering God.  Finally, when it all goes to hell, I go to God and ask for His help.  As a Christian, why do I do this?

I was guilty of this…again…last night.  I stayed up into the wee hours of night constructing “what-if” scenarios inside my head. The more I tried to solve the problem the more I experienced doubt, fear, and depression.  It felt like I was drowning and desperately reaching for anything to keep me afloat.  Finally, sleep came, but my dreams were riddled with the same doubt and the very same fear.  In the morning, nothing had changed.  I got up, fixed my coffee and worried some more.

Since, in this blog, I’ve been “walking through the book of Psalms,” I sat down, coffee cup in hand and opened my Bible to next verses upon the journey.   In these verses, I find David  also caught within desperate conditions facing an uncertain future.   Immediately I felt kinship.  David, however, handled his problem much different than I  had.  David, unlike me, found rest in trusting God. The King James Version of this story puts it like this, “I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me.”  And so in the midst of his trouble, David slept well and awoke the next morning refreshed.

As a Christian, I wonder why  this basic truth so easily escapes me?   I’m saddened by my weakness, but God is never angry with me. He knows I am but human, formed from the dust of the ground.  He gently brings me to his Word and assures my heart by saying, “…just as I was with David…I will also be with you.  Trust me…your salvation belongs to me.”  

What will be the end result?  I don’t know.  Where will this problem lead?  Again, I don’t know…  BUT, there are two things I do know…one-I know God loves me and two-I know He will be my help.   Time and time again He beckons me, “Cast your every care upon me because I care for you…I love you”  (I Peter 5:7) 

When I do…He gives me the very same peace He gave to David thousands of years ago.

My prayer…  

Lord, I’m afraid, but I give you my fear.  I rest in knowing you are in control.  I’m sorry, that in my weakness, I lose sight of this truth.  Thank you for your gentle reminders.  I know you love me and I know you love my family and I know our salvation belongs to you. Thank you for your presence forever within my soul.  Amen.