Psalms 3:1-8
Lord, how they have increased who trouble me!
Many are they who rise up against me.
2 Many are they who say of me,
“There is no help for him in God.” Selah
3 But You, O Lord, are a shield [a]for me,
My glory and the One who lifts up my head.
4 I cried to the Lord with my voice,
And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O Lord;
Save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone;
You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah
This psalm, is the description of what was happening when King David’s own son Absalom was trying to take over his fathers throne. David was forced to leave the security of the palace, because he was unsure of those around him.
Sometimes we, and I say we as the church collectively, forget our salvation belongs to the Lord. Far too often we want to work out our own situations and bring our own answers to the table. By doing so, our efforts fit our own narrative better, to the dilemma we may be facing.
The human will is powerful and our willingness to try to work out our own answers without gods help, only ends in the frustration of our own inability and failure!
“Lord, how they have increased who trouble me!
Many are they who rise up against me.
Many are they who say of me,
“There is no help for him in God.”
Not unlike David in his problem, we who are Christians today face similar situations. Our liberties and our way of life as we know it are threatened by those who mock, say and act as if there is no God!
The atmosphere created by what some want to call a new normal is repeatedly trying to be established! Without God being any part of it! Some say, get used to what we’re witnessing.
God would have me tell you, “things are not always as they appear to be!”
Matthew 6:4-8 MSG
4-8 Jesus said, “Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, ‘I am Christ, the Messiah.’ They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming.
As in David’s time and in the moment as we watch history in the making, fear still the propellant and pusher of the enemies agenda and plans today.
After all the different diversions of attack throughout history, the devil is still stuck with the same playbook of steal, kill and destroy!
Only God has the ability to create new, only God knows what the future holds and only God wants you to have an abundant life!
2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the moment like David by circumstances and lose focus of how big God is. When we focus on our circumstances, the opportunity for fear not only raises its ugly head, but gains the confidence to become the center of attention!
Isaiah 55:11&12 NKJ
11. So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me [c]void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
12. “For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands
Right there my friend proclaims the promise of standing on Gods word! Giving every believer the right to go through life doing the happy dance!
Gods word assures us He is willing to pull out all the stops in the removal of the burdens of life, if we let Him be a part of our lives!
If your relationship with Jesus doesn’t put a spring in your step and cause you to do a happy dance once in awhile, maybe you’ve hit a spiritual funk?
Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate your realization of how much Jesus loves you and exactly what you should be expecting from your relationship with God?
God’s word is still and will always be looking for ways to prosper God’s people, establish joy for their lives and accomplish the impossible!
Constantly searching for those who become aware of His Promises and are willing to believe, “nothing is impossible for God!”
Fear is the opposite of faith! Fear’s main driving force is self efforts lack of ability!
Faiths driving force is resting in the strength of Gods ability and the peace of mind stemming from it!
David had faced a similar situation of faith and fear we read of in
1 Samuel 30:1-7 The Message (MSG)
David’s Strength Was in His God
1-3 Three days later, David and his men arrived back in Ziklag. Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They tore Ziklag to pieces and then burned it down. They captured all the women, young and old. They didn’t kill anyone, but drove them like a herd of cattle. By the time David and his men entered the village, it had been burned to the ground, and their wives, sons, and daughters all taken prisoner.
4-6 David and his men burst out in loud wails—wept and wept until they were exhausted with weeping. David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken prisoner along with the rest. And suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him.
6-7 David strengthened himself with trust in his God
There was definite fear all was lost, by all of David’s men including David. There was also a glimmer of hope, stemming from the God given faith they all possessed!
Remember these men were warriors of many battles and triumphs following David and his pursuit of becoming King of Israel! They had no doubt many miraculous displays of David’s walk and relationship with God!
Many a lesser man would have contemplated a different strategy resulting in failure and possibly loss of life, faced with the same circumstances.
But David, didn’t look to his own ability, David looked only to Gods amazing ability!
I’m sure there was talk among his men, saying something to the effect of look what doing the Lords work has gotten us! The voices of those grew against David to the point of the talk of Stoning him!
TBS. David strengthen himself in the Lord and God answered him with a victory over his adversary’s and the returning of everything that had been taken from him and his men!
Davids realization of his own humility, allowed God to work out an amazing end to what seemed a hopeless situation!
When we humble ourselves and call on God, God shows up and silences the voices of the enemies! Amen?
David chose to do same again, with complete reliance on God, as we read from verse three again of our text.
3 But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,
My glory and the One who lifts up my head.
4 I cried to the Lord with my voice,
And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.
Selah, means to pause. David paused, or rested and strengthened himself in the amazing ability of God.
David could’ve been mad, he could have been
thinking of retribution against Absalom. David could’ve been thinking a lot of things, but what he chose to do was rest and strengthen himself in what he knew to be his salvation.
David realized looking to God for his salvation, was what had sustained him every time he had ever faced any circumstance!
God had never let David down before! His adversaries were to powerful and to numerous to count, but David remembered what God had helped to be victorious over in the past!
David new God had never let him down before and God would be willing to accomplish the impossible for him again, in the moment of his need!
Lions, bears, giants, adversaries, warriors, enemies, yes God had sustained David through each and every one!
Gods calling and anointing is without repentance!
Romans 11:29 NKJ
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
Today because of God’s loving act of grace to the world, We look to Jesus and our relationship with Jesus for our sustaining salvation and promise of deliverance!
We have David’s example, to not look at our circumstance, but to the one who controls and determines the outcome of our circumstances!
Knowing when we humble ourselves and ask for God’s help, God hears and responds to our needs!
Reading on from verse seven
7 Arise, O Lord;
Save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone;
You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah
David calls on God to rescue him and bring salvation to the situation! And then reflects on the times that God has rescued him and rescued Israel, and to seemingly have done the impossible time after time. Asking for Gods blessing once again, and then pauses or rest in the assurance God will deliver!
Is it really that easy? Under who’s ability?
Under mans ability, what David ask was impossible!
Under God’s ability, our requests really are that easy!
We repeatedly have the tendency to try making things for God harder than what they are!
Philippians 4:6-7 NKJ
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Paul tells us, to let God know what we need and have faith God will meet the need and to rest in the peace that passes all understanding God supplies through Christ Jesus until the need is no longer a need!
There is no harder or easier for God!
God can do anything He wants,
anytime He wants,
for anyone who has the faith the size of a mustard seed, which God has also already miraculously has provided and is willing to believe God can meet the need!
We find our true identity in Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord, when we finally kick fear to the curb and take our rightful place of resting in Jesus willingness, to show us unmerited favor!
Have we earned it? No!
Are we worthy of such reward?
If Jesus is our Saviour then yes we are worthy! Because of the cross, Jesus has made us worthy and able to receive the Favor God freely offers to all!
The only thing there is no room for in a Christians life today and what we face in the never ending onslaught of condemnation and attack by the accuser, is fear!
Because fear triggers and is fuel for doubt and unbelief!
Whatever you’re facing today doesn’t matter, because nothing is out of the realm of the possibilities of the One True Living God!
Whether it’s an addiction, or a financial need, or a physical condition makes absolutely no difference! If you’re trusting the results and outcome of what you’re facing to God!
Don’t let the fear caused by the failure of self effort, keep you from receiving the miracle your seeking.
Put your mustard sized God given seed of faith in the God of all things possible and rest in God’s willingness to split your mountain in half while making those same mountains of adversity sing for joy, while the trees clap with thunderous applause, in the glorious midst of clearing the pathway to your victory!
Do you know how much God loves you today?
Jesus established on the cross amount of Gods love for you is immeasurable. God willingly gave His very best, so you could live in, walk in and experience His very best, all along your way to eternity!
Aren’t you glad you know Him?
