I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands. I spread out my hands to You; my soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah Answer me speedily, O LORD; my spirit fails! Do not hide Your face from me, lest I be like those who go down into the pit. Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You. Psalm 143: 5-8, NKJV.
Our Heavenly Parent, how grateful we are to have You in our lives. Please help us not to take Your blessings for granted. In the holy name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
We have come to the last sentence of our passage of Scripture under consideration, “Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You.” I recognize two petitions here: a need to hear “a Word” from the LORD, and a request for guidance. With the help of the Holy Spirit, let us see what we can learn from the first half of this plea: ” ‘Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust[.]” Tomorrow we will look at the second half.
Hearing a Word from the Lord, is always a “good” thing. The Word might not always be what You want to hear, but if it is coming from the Lord, rest assured that it will do you good, if heeded. David was accustomed to receiving messages from God directly, or, through the prophets. God even spoke to him, through his friend, Jonathan. For a brief moment, let us listen to some of these messages, and then observe David’s, reaction to them:
“Therefore David inquired of the LORD, saying, ‘ “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” ‘ And the LORD said to David, ‘ “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.” ‘ But David’s men said to him, ‘ “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” ‘ Then David inquired of the LORD once again. And the LORD answered him and said, ‘ “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” ‘ And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah” ‘ ” (1 Samuel 23: 2-5).
Sometimes the “Word of the LORD” might seem impossible, or, “too good to be true.” Sometimes others might create doubt in the “This is what the Lord says.” If you are in doubt, go back to the LORD. He will not hold it against you. Some of the people in your life might look at it as a lack of faith, but God will make it plain!
“Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, ‘ “Go and tell David, ‘ “Thus says the LORD: ‘I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ‘ ” So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, ‘ “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.” ‘ And David said to Gad, ‘ “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man” ‘ ” (2 Samuel 24: 11-14).
I do not believe that anyone enjoys receiving these kinds of messages. We like to receive good messages; messages that warm our hearts and make them rejoice. But some of our decisions make these unpleasant messages necessary. Our doing things our way, instead of God’s way, often brings us bad news and sad results. David had taken an unauthorized census of the people, even after he had been warned not to do it (see verses 1-9). And God had sent him a message, for him to choose his own “effect!” (Remember life consists on cause and effect, in motion). As we tread this “valley of tears,” we may receive some very unpleasant messages. When that happens, David’s behavior, in this situation, might be a good one to follow: Humble yourself, and “fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great[!]”
“Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, ‘ “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that” ‘ ” (1 Samuel 23: 16, 17). This is one of those messages where many of us would be prone to question the Lord.
Here is David running from King Saul. Jonathan, the son of Saul, and David’s friend, comes and tells David, that he will be the next king of Israel. Most of us, would come to the conclusion that this is a set-up; a trap set by father and son, to get rid of this dangerous rival. Too often we seem to forget that, “When a [people’s] ways please the LORD, He makes even [their] enemies to be at peace with [them]” (Proverbs 16: 7). Jonathan, who by every rule in the book should have been one of David’s most dangerous and vengeful enemies, is his best friend! The wonderful son that he is, Jonathan befriends David, without dishonoring his father. He becomes the porter of a message of grace, to David, the fugitive! Be prepared to hear some of the most amazing messages in “a Word from the Lord!”
We will continue.