Be with us today, Lord, help us to be wise and godly, to think truth, to put on the armor of God and to obey what we know to be right. May we have joy in Jesus and choose to let go, hold on and rise above. I praise you for all that you are doing, all that you are going to do.
I praise you also for your wonderful Word and the power of it in our lives. Psalm 62:5-8 is such a helpful passage
Psa 62:5 “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;” [This is a command, in contrast to verse 1 where the same truth is given as a statement “My soul finds rest in God alone,” telling us where rest is possible. In verse 5 we are called upon to make a choice to find our rest in You, Lord. We need to turn away from what we naturally pursue for rest: getting what we want, resolution of situations and tensions, positive reactions of people, removal of conflict. The fact is that any of these solutions can be fleeting and superficial, while finding our rest in you is a solution that is long, deep, powerful and eternal. Help us to willfully, volitionally find our rest in you, alone.]
“my hope comes from him.” [Again, this statement is a bit different from verse 1 (“my salvation comes from him”). Here is the offer of hope, the possibility of receiving what we desire. We need to turn from the desire, to the One who can give it. As it says in Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself also in the Lord and He will give you the desire of your heart.” You are to be the focus of our affections, then You can give us good things, knowing that they will not become idols.
You are giving us great responsibility and possibility here, Lord. Romans 15:13 clarifies this: “May the God of hope give you all joy and peace as you trust in Him (there is our part, trusting, finding our rest in Him), so that your lives may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” As we trust, the power of the Spirit comes; as we find our rest in you, Lord, then you pour out all kinds of blessings in our lives.]
Psa 62:6 “He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.” [This is an exact copy of verse 2, repetition of the truth of where real security lies, and if I seek refuge there, I will not be shaken, no matter how traumatic the events.]
Psa 62:7 “My salvation and my honor depend on God;” [We so naturally seek our salvation in our own efforts, and our honor from the opinions of others. However, both of these actually depend not on us or others, but on God. He has provided salvation for eternity, and for every day. He is the One who has given us honor, making us children of the Creator of the Universe, giving us special work, granting us undeserved membership in the Kingdom of light. What else could we desire? Yet we tend to seek salvation and honor elsewhere. Forgive us, Lord, help us to seek salvation and honor only from you.]
“he is my mighty rock, my refuge.” [The unshakable, unassailable, unconquerable God is the One to be trusted. When all else seems to fall apart, He is there, unchanging, reliable, good, wise and trustable.]
Psa 62:8 “Trust in him at all times, O people;” [There is that command again: “Trust!” When we trust we can rest. And this is possible all the time. You are sufficient, Lord, you are faithful, you are absolutely trustable.]
“pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” [It is right, good and necessary to tell you all our fears, desires, feelings and thoughts. Then we can fill our hearts with Truth and Faith. Then we are safe in your refuge. You will never reject us for being honest with you—you know all about us already—and you are delighted when we are open, transparent and truthful with you. You desire to be our refuge, you call us to yourself, and in you we are safe.]
Help us, Lord God, to trust in you more and more, to find our rest, our refuge, our salvation, our safety, our joy in you. You are worthy of trust, you are worthy of praise, you are worthy of worship. May my life give you honor and glory today as I trust in you alone.
