Psalm_60
Scripture
Psalm 60:11
“O give us help against the adversary, for deliverance by man is in vain.”
Observation - What does it say?
This Psalm was written during David’s reign as king. It is quite possible that this was written during a time when the Israelites were at war with the Moabites. This particular Psalm can be broken down into three parts; complaint for defeat (vs 1-4), a promise of victory (vs 5-8), and rekindled hope in God’s word. The Psalm seems to show the result of turning away from God is the realization of being dependent on Him.
Understanding - What does it mean?
I heard someone say once that if you need to make a decision about something and one of the choices is something that will be to the detriment of your ego, choose that one. The point was, we are ultimately put here to bring God glory and not ourselves. Therefore, if we are struggling to do something because of the way we perceive it will make us look, we act in the way that God will get the glory and not us.
I came to the realization, recently, that I have a tendency to only pursue things that I perceive will promote me. Especially when it comes to work. I want to follow the plan that will bring me the most positive attention. I do this without taking the time to prayerfully consider the path that God might have intended for me instead. I am essentially leaning on the wisdom of man to determine my path and future rather than God. Then, without fail, come crawling back to God wondering, “why is everything going wrong?”
When I take time to look around in moments like these, it’s easy to see that it would be better for me to have asked for God’s direction in the first place. I also get a look at the wonder of God’s amazing grace. I do something dumb (read: I walked away from God), when my life is in shambles I run back to the one who can fix things (I repent), God in turn accepts us with loving arms (forgiveness). And this is generally when God redirects my actions to serve others.
In Galatians 6, Paul talks about our ability to help one another through the tough times. He reminds us that our life here is short, and it is with perseverance in doing good that we will find eternal life. Much like the Israelites, we need only to seek God for direction in life and he will be our salvation.
Life application