Psalm 18 - 8.5.24
Scripture
Psalms 18:20-21 NLT
“The Lord rewarded me for doing right; he restored me because of my innocence. For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not turned from my God to follow evil.”
Observation
This is a psalm of David. He sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from Saul, and all of his enemies. It’s a testament of God’s faithfulness to David, and David’s faithfulness to God. Even during life’s struggles, David didn’t blame God. Instead he remained faithful to keep God’s ways, and God blessed him and rescued him from his enemies.
Application
What kind of person will I be when times get tough? 🤔
It’s a great question to ask ourselves. Are we the type to fold under pressure? Or is that the time we dig deep, stand firm on our beliefs, and fight on!
We’ve all been through tough times in life. We’ve all felt the pressure, the stress, and may have even felt like the world was going to cave in on us. Now if you haven’t experienced these things yet, I’m happy for you. But trust me, it will eventually happen at some point in all our lives. But the question is, how will we handle those situations when they arise? Will we go off the deep end and “go postal” on the world? I sure hope not! Will we unleash our tongues and speak words of vulgarity and slander? Will we turn to substances to try to forget about our problems? 🤔 Or will we be like David, turning to God, and crying out for His Help? You see, there is a reason why David has the reputation, and is known as the man after God’s own heart. Because David, even though he was going through tough times in life, was faithful to the LORD, trusting in God’s goodness and faithfulness. David loved God with all his heart. He did his best to keep God’s ways. And even when David did mess up, (which he did later in life), he was repentant from his sinful ways, and turned back to God. And it was this type of relationship David had with God…complete trust, and complete submission, that pleased God. God in return blessed David, and rescued him from all his enemies.-(Read Psalms 23)
So knowing life won’t always be “peachy clean” for me, and knowing troubles will sometimes find my way, I want to remember David here. How he didn’t shake his fist at God and blame him for the troubles he was experiencing. Instead, David chose to seek and trust God. He asked God for help. He made sure to continue to honor God by keeping God’s ways. When God delivered him from his troubles, he chose to give God all the glory and honor by singing songs of praise and worship!
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your goodness and faithfulness. Please forgive me whenever I go off the “deep end” in life whenever troubles come my way. Forgive me whenever I let my frustration and anger turn into sinful behavior. Forgive me for those words that may slip from my mouth or even run through my mind. Help me to remember to turn to You first, for Your guidance, help, and strength. Help me to fight the good fight so that I may always keep Your ways. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽
-Moses Gaddi