Lord, how they have increased that trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him [her] in God.” Selah But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the LORD with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. Selah I lay down and slept; I awoke for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. 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. Salvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah Psalm 3: 1-8, NKJV.
Our Creator and Sovereign King, we give You thanks for the opportunity to awaken from sleep in our sound minds, and gather around Your Word to study. Please remain here with us, and guide us to the saving truths that are embedded in Your Word. In the blessed name of Jesus we humbly pray. Amen.
Have you ever felt the way the psalmist seems to be feeling at this time? Perhaps not for the same reasons. His laments were the result of a rather painful situation; he was running from his son Absalom, who had revolted against him. Today, we are not going to deal with the psalmist’s experience, we are just going to deal with the pain he is expressing, and see how it can be applied to our day to day, situations in the twenty-first century, because lamentating is a universal behavior of the human family!
Have you ever been in a situation where people thought that there was no hope for you? Perhaps you were sick. The doctors had done all that they could for you, but instead of getting better you were growing progressively worst! Your family and loved ones were cast down and feeling that they had seen the last of you. They had concluded that not even God could save you! But God, the great Physician, the One who has never lost a case, is still rescuing people! He is the One who lifts up your head! He will shield you, and He will bring glory out of ashes! He who created the cells in your body, can re-create them. He can declare you healthy, for the sake of those who need to come to know God, and His creative power through a miracle; and for His own honor and glory! Praise be to God!
Or, perhaps it was your marriage. Maybe your spouse had already “moved out” of the relationship. You were in the same house, but not together. Or, perhaps, your spouse had already physically, left home. The divorce process was about to begin when God stepped in: “But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts my head. I cried to the LORD with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill.” Thank God, His “holy hill” is not so far removed from earth that He cannot hear us when we cry unto Him! Thank God that your God and mine, “neither slumbers nor sleeps!” While you are tossing and turning on Your bed, God is sending an “east wind” to divide the waters and make a way where now there exists only waters of disillusionment and chaos! Hallelujah! He is able!
Is it your finances? Just be aware that the recession has not affected the bank in heaven! It is to Him that we need to be looking for a “bail out!” His “coffers are full, He has riches untold!” What a mighty God we serve! We can lay down and sleep in peace at night, and awaken refreshed in the morning, knowing that our God is in control, and that He will sustain us! We do not need to live in fear of any kind of enemies; for God is Lord over all things animate and inanimate. He will not forsake us in the day of our trouble! No matter who, or how many, “set themselves against us” God has our back! He has promised that “no weapon formed against us will prosper,” and that He will “condemn every tongue that rise against us in judgment.” I have found that He does what He promises! “What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief to bear, what a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer!”
Yes my friends, I know from experience, that we serve a mighty God! Throughout my entire life God has sustained me, and I know that He will sustain you in every situation!