Psa 43:2  “You are God my stronghold.”

[David is speaking powerful reality here. What a wonderful statement of Truth! In you, Lord, is strength, in you is safety, in you is help; you are our unwavering, infinite, eternal shelter.

I praise you that your presence brings peace, protection, provision and power. In you there is all that we can need and desire. In the turbulence of daily life your power protects, your love leads and your goodness guides. Praise be to you that this is always true, whether we can see it or not. May I live in the light of this truth today!]

“Why have you rejected me?”

[David now pours out his heart, expressing his feelings, which, in contrast to the verse before, are not true. God has not rejected him, but it feels like it. David is doing what is right, though, for to pour out how we feel helps us to see the lies we are believing.]

“Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”

[Here is another lie: he did not, and we do not, have to go about mourning, we do not have to be oppressed by the enemy. If we keep on the armor, if we keep up the shield of faith, we can praise in the midst of the worst situation and know the peace and joy of Jesus. This does not mean, of course, that we won’t have hard times, negative feelings and attacks of the evil one, but it means that in the midst of these we can praise instead of mourning, we can rise up and win rather than being oppressed.

I think of the man we met recently, who as a 15 year old was told that he had an untreatable tumor and would be dead in 3 months. He had so much pain that he shook all the time. A relative challenged him to thank God for the pain, which he did, and in the end God healed him. Now 17 years later he is strong and vigorous, living for the Lord. “He who offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me, and opens the way that I may show him the salvation of the Lord.” Ps 50:23]

Gory be to you, Lord Jesus, our Great Shepherd, our Powerful King, our All-sufficient Savior. I praise you for what you will bring today: opportunities to praise you by faith in all, to rejoice in your goodness, to rest in your love.

Guide me today, Lord, in living in a way that will bring you glory, honor and praise, which will demonstrate to those around us the power of your grace, the awesomeness of your holiness, the depth of your wisdom and the goodness of your heart. Thank you now for the answers you will give. Amen.