Glorifying God in the cave

When we began our study of Psalm 57, David was inside a cave.

He's still there.

Nothing's changed.

Oh, wait. Something HAS changed.

He's singing praise songs!

Like we said before, as far as we know, Saul is still king. And if David so much as pokes his head out to see if the armies are still around, he will probably be spotted and killed! 
But in spite of all this, David is not whining in self-pity. He's not complaining. He is praising God.  David's making sure that God is glorified, even in his trials. 

We saw yesterday that praise in difficult times is a matter of deliberately focusing on the Lord, and on praising Him. Today, we will study and see that David says praise is a matter of testifying to others of God's goodness: 

I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
    I will sing of you among the peoples.
10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
    your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

David wants the "nations," that is, the people who don't know God, to hear his praise. Even though he is going through extreme difficulty, David wants to sing about how good God is -- not only does he want to praise God, but he wants others to hear and glorify God, too.

We saw in verse three that David picked two aspects of God's goodness to exalt:

He sends from heaven and saves me,
    rebuking those who hotly pursue me—
    God sends forth his love and his faithfulness. (v. 3)

And we see this again in verse ten, up above this text. David is praising God's love (lovingkindness) and faithfulness.  Scratching aside some cobwebs, we remember from a previous study that the Hebrew word for lovingkindness is related to the stork. The Hebrews saw the diligent, loyal love of the stork for its young and said, "God's love is like that - only greater!"  God the Father cares for us and nurtures us with His never-ending love.

 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. (Deuteronomy 7:9)

 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. (I John 4:16)

When David mentions faithfulness, he is pointing to God's being consistent. He is trustworthy. He never, ever fails His children. He may allow us to be in severe situations, and even to premature death; but there is not one person in history who has trusted in our Savior and been disappointed. Even those who have suffered persecution have testified to God's abundant love and faithfulness which has sustained them. Paul was in prison and facing execution when he said what he desired:

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (Philippians 1:20)

In the midst of our trials, Satan will tempt us to doubt. We must focus on God's love and faithfulness to us, because those are exactly the avenues the devil will take, to try to get us to fall away from our Lord. "Love? Faithfulness?" he will sneer into our ears . . . "If He loves you, why is this happening?"

But if our eyes and our hearts are fixed upon Jesus Christ, we will sing with David from the cave, "God, Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens and Your truth to the clouds!" We will praise and glorify Him. Anyone who has a conversation with us will walk away knowing that we love and worship a great God Who is loving and faithful.

If we focus on our purpose: to glorify God -- He will give us a song in the cave.

Praising from inside the cave

In verses seven through eleven of our psalm, it appears that David is still in the cave. His circumstances haven't changed much. Things may not have changed at all! But instead of wringing his hands, or whining, or having a good ol' pity party, David breaks forth in praise to God.

My heart, O God, is steadfast,
    my heart is steadfast;
    I will sing and make music.

Awake, my soul!
    Awake, harp and lyre!
    I will awaken the dawn.

 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
    I will sing of you among the peoples.
 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
    your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
    let your glory be over all the earth.

We've mentioned that God is glorified as we praise Him in our trials. In other psalms, David has been seen praising God in spite of some pretty scary situations.

Praise is not easy in times like that. It's a matter of deliberate focus. 

What does that mean?

Well, praise is not our natural response to trouble. Am I right? When we are faced with obstacles, we humans have all kinds of responses . . . do you remember learning about the effect of adrenaline in our bodies? In schoolwork, did you study "fight or flight"? 

Whenever David heard a twig snap or a rock tumble outside his cave, the adrenaline level in his body probably skyrocketed. This would cause his pupils to become more dilated to allow more light in; he would be able to see a threat more clearly. The hormone would cause his heart rate to increase and his breathing, too, so that his muscles would be oxygenated and ready to respond.

When we are faced with a trial, we may respond this way, too. We might be watchful and alert, our heart may be pounding.

We humans are a curious lot, though, and our response might instead be to complain. To whine and be angry with God. To question His plan and His authority. 
Some of us may simply withdraw into ourselves and become depressed. It's easy to allow our thoughts to grow dark and to become truly sad; we can even find it difficult to leave our bed or to turn on a light.

Verse six told us that David's enemy had "fixed a net" to catch him, but that David had fixed his heart. Yep, it's the same root word in the Hebrew. Fixed. Prepared. Established.

The scholars tell us that the way David repeats the words, "I will sing, yes, I will sing praises" is a clue for us - it was a matter of deliberate choice.

We have other examples in the Bible of people making a deliberate choice to praise God in the middle of their trials. Let's look at just one:

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:25)

This chapter in Acts details the plight of Paul and Silas. They'd been preaching and teaching and now look at them . . . their clothes had been torn and pulled from them; they'd been beaten and whipped; they were now in prison, with their feet secured so that they could not move; it was the middle of the night and they didn't know for sure what would happen in the morning . . . . and they were singing! 

I don't really think that if they sat and ticked off their problems on the fingers of each hand that they would have been grinning or giggling. Their bodies were tired and sore and bleeding. Their future was dim. But they made the deliberate choice to praise God - they prayed and they sang hymns of praise to God.

Sometimes we do need to praise God when we don't feel like it. And that is NOT hypocrisy. It's obedience. You see, the definition of hypocrisy is not that I do things I don't feel like doing. (If that were the case, I'd be a hypocrite whenever I climb out of bed when I don't feel like it!) Hypocrisy is presenting a false impression to others so that we look better than we really are. Praising God, though, is a matter of obedience - and the true test of our obedience is that we obey God even when we don't feel like doing it!

Let's make a commitment that the next time we are going through a difficult trial (or maybe we are going through trials right now) we will respond rightly. If we are starting to feel overwhelmed or depressed, we will follow David's example. We will make the deliberate choice to praise God, even if we are still "inside the cave."  Let's focus on the Lord and praise Him! 

Verses that inspire

Recently, I was looking for a verse and stumbled over a gem that was so familiar, but moved my heart again as if I'd read it for the first time!

Check out these verses in Psalm 130:

If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,

Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness,

so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,

and in his word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord

more than watchmen wait for the morning,

more than watchmen wait for the morning. (v 3-6)

"With you there is forgiveness..."   Forgiveness is not that God ignores our sin. He doesn't overlook it, or condone it, or make light of it. 

Forgiveness is God treating us as if we'd done no wrong - because of the blood of the spotless Lamb of God.  Forgiveness is welcoming us home not as servants but as full-fledged members of the family. Forgiveness is not being placed on probation - it's being pardoned. Forgiveness gives us hope of salvation, of another chance to live for Him.

"In His word, I put my hope."
Hope is not wishful thinking. Not day-dreaming. It's not a coin tossed into a wishing well.

Hope is certain, confident anticipation. It's having assurance and relying on the unchanging word of a faithful God. This kind of hope gives us solid ground to stand on, when the storms of life strike, and the waves threaten to pull our feet out from under us.

In our prayer time today, let's remember these verses and give thanks for forgiveness and for hope!

Trusting - praying to a God Who's bigger

Last week, as we studied Psalm 57, we mentioned that one of the themes of the psalm was trusting in the Lord. We discussed relying on God, instead of our human methods.

Today, let's focus on verse two:

I cry out to God Most High,

to God, who vindicates me. (Psalm 57:2)

David is reminding us that trust means seeking God in prayer. In fact, we could make a point that prayer is the language of trust! Many of the psalms we have studied are prayers, just as much as they are songs for worship and temple contemplation. 

Prayer acknowledges that we need God. It agrees with God that our strength is not enough, and that His is infinite. Prayer says to God (and to anyone else who is around) that we are dependent upon Him -- that we can't handle what we are facing in OUR strength, but that we can handle it in HIS strength. And prayer humbly asks Him to intervene with that strength; David tells us that He will:

He sends from heaven and saves me,

rebuking those who hotly pursue me—

God sends forth his love and his faithfulness. (v. 3)

God gets the glory because we seek His help in our prayers.

Let's see what David says next:

I am in the midst of lions;

I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts—

men whose teeth are spears and arrows,

whose tongues are sharp swords.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

let your glory be over all the earth.

They spread a net for my feet—

I was bowed down in distress.

They dug a pit in my path—

but they have fallen into it themselves. (Psalm 57:4-6)

David gets pretty poetic here - he is comparing the men and armies who are pursuing him, to lions and other hungry beasts. Almost makes us think of fire breathing dragons and such - and it may have seemed that way as he was followed from place to place, fearing for his life. These people are out to get him. He's outnumbered and it seems like it's a foregone conclusion that they will catch him!

Right in the middle of talking about those who pursue him, we see verse five. Kinda jarring, isn't it? Sudden-like.

It's as if David has a sudden realization: God is bigger than his problems! Sometimes is takes truly intense trials for us to look at the Lord and remember how trustworthy He is!

Remember how time after time, the people of Israel forgot about how God had performed amazing miracles (including parting the waters of the Red Sea!) to rescue them? They would come up on a problem, and immediately start grumbling and whining. They saw their problems as being bigger than their God. 

The bigger our problem is, the more opportunity there is for God to be glorified as we trust Him to take care of the problem. There is nothing too difficult for our Lord. If we see Him as bigger than our problems, we can trust Him and He will get the glory, because God is glorified as we trust Him with our trials.

We can rely upon Him alone, for His is faithful. We can seek Him in prayer for He answers. We can remember that He is bigger than our problems. 

All glory goes to our Lord!

Friday slowdown

The King of love my shepherd is . . . He will supply my needs. This is a beautiful and reverent song. I hope it blesses all who pause here.

 

Useless advice? No way!

"Trust in the Lord."

Although the word "trust" is not actually seen in verses one through six of our psalm, it's the main idea! I think that some people today view the phrase "trust in the Lord" as a bit of nice advice that is impractical (some people would even call it useless advice) for someone who is suffering in a trial. 

But it is NOT useless -- it is some of the most practical and wise counsel that we can follow when we find ourselves in a difficult situation. What does it actually mean? And how does this glorify God?

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy,

for in You my soul takes refuge.

In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter

until the danger has passed.

I cry out to God Most High,

to God who fulfills His purpose for me.

He reaches down from heaven and saves me;

He rebukes those who trample me. Selah

God sends forth

His loving devotion and His truth. (Psalm 57:1-4)

The first thing we can see is that David wants everyone to know He is relying on God alone. The word he chooses gives us the picture of baby chicks which take refuge under their mother's wings when danger lurks about. If a chicken hawk is circling overhead, or a dog or fox is nosing about, the chicks run for mama and she puts her wings over them to cover and protect them. The chicks are entrusting their lives to her protection. Their instincts tell them: don't try to outrun the danger, just trust in mama's sheltering wings. 

Taking refuge in God means that we trust Him completely. We are depending on Him to protect us. We make the conscious choice to rely upon God alone. 

Looking at it from the other direction, it means that we do NOT rely upon human merit. In some translations, verse one says "have mercy," and in others we read, "be gracious." God's grace and mercy refer to His undeserved favor. I bet that is probably one of the hardest concepts for us to understand . . . we humans are a proud bunch. Our hearts just have trouble with the fact that we don't deserve His grace! Many believers just do not understand it -- they tell God that they've been extra good lately. They list the things they have done, from reading the Bible to attending church, to giving of their financial blessings. 

And then they tell God what they want Him to do. Or they tell Him it's not right for them to have to endure this trial.

Based on what they have done.

Uh oh.

They think God owes them something. And that is not trusting in God alone; that is trusting in human merit. The only way we can approach God is through grace.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— (Ephesians 2:8)

The second thing we do NOT rely upon is human methods. Here's what this is talking about . . . sometimes as believers we are too heavily reliant on methods. Barely a day goes by without someone coming up with a new concept, a new method to reach out to unbelievers.... to grow our church.... to increase our financial accounts.....   Some of these are biblical, and some are just business plans re-packaged to appeal to pastors and church members. (As long as those methods are harmonious with scripture, they should not cause problems. But we must be careful to give the Lord, not the plan, the glory!)

In our personal lives, we may be tempted to rely on human methods to get out of our trial. This is a pretty tough one to figure out, and we must pray for wisdom in order to move forward. There are times when we simply must wait on God to act on our behalf. Think about David -- once when he and his men were on the run, they hid in a cave, and Saul came into that very cave to relieve himself. Instead of doing what his men said, and killing King Saul, David crept up and silently cut off a sliver of Saul's robe. (His conscience bothered him, even then!) 

David trusted that the Lord would remove Saul without his help. Look at the phrases in our psalm posted above -- he said God reaches down, He saves him, rebukes those who trample him. David was trusting God and relying on His protection and His active care for him. He decided (with the help of the Spirit) that he should not "help" God by killing Saul, even though he knew it was God's will to give the throne to him (David).

So.

Here's the big question: When is it okay to use human methods and when is it wrong? I guess the first thing we must do is to pray for discernment. 

The next thing is to search the scriptures for examples. We should remember this -- it is ALWAYS wrong to rely totally upon human methods and give no thought to our Father. Every once in a while it may be wrong to even USE human methods, much less rely upon them and exclude God. 

Here's the big answer for our big question: We can ask ourselves who will get the glory if I use these human methods to accomplish things? Who will be glorified if I get out of my trial this way?

Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather err on the side of leaning lightly on methods and leaning heavily on trusting God.  And then make absolutely certain that God gets all the glory!

Trust in the Lord? Rely on Him alone?

Best advice ever!

Are You here with me in the cave?

In grade school, we learned that there were five important questions to be answered when we wrote a story . . . who, what, where, when, and why? 

We're studying Psalm 57, so let's check this out. 

Who? David.

What? Hiding.

Where? In a cave.

When? While Saul was searching for him.

Why? Because Saul had vowed to kill him.

There's another "why" here. David must have been wondering, "God, why are You allowing this to happen to me?" 

After all, God had commanded Samuel to anoint David as king. David didn't apply for the job! He may have been wondering why God didn't remove Saul and put him in the king's palace? But here's the thing: Psalm 57 shows us that David understood something deeper. He knew in his heart that to ask the question "why?" in the midst of suffering is to ask the wrong question. The question we need to ask is "what?"  What does God want from our lives in the midst of our trial? And what does God want to accomplish as a result of this trial?

We may not understand God's purpose as He works in our lives. But there is one thing that we can understand -- the answer to "what" He wants to accomplish is that we will understand our most important motive: God's glory. 

God's glory should be our passion at all times, but especially when we are in trials. Even David, a man "after God's own heart," may not have realized WHY God was allowing him to suffer. But David was well aware that God desired to be glorified in the midst of this trial.

What does it actually mean to "glorify" Him? The scholars tell us that the Hebrew word (Kabod) has the meaning of weight, worthiness, reputation, or honor. It was used in their world to also describe a man of substance or reputation. Kinda like when we say of someone, "He's a heavyweight in his field."  What we are trying to say is that the person has substance - he must be reckoned with. 

When the word kabod was used to describe God, it referred to His intrinsic worth. It meant that God was (and is, of course) worthy of all honor because of Who He is. He is a God Who is perfect and holy in all of His ways.  So, to glorify God is to ascribe praise and honor to God for Who He is and all the things He has done. It means to speak of His faithfulness and His compassion, and to call attention to His holiness.

Paul told us:

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (I Corinthians 10:31)

Whether we are doing things as mundane and "everyday" as eating or drinking, or whether we are in the midst of a trial, we strive to act in such a way that others will see and praise the God we serve - because they can see evidence of His attributes in our lives.

How do we do that?

David will tell us . . . . . because even if he did ask God, "Are you here with me in the cave," he received his answer and he rejoiced. Stay tuned!