As we all know, we are living in a time where there is a great amount of uncertainty, fear, and anxiety.  Much of this is because we have never experienced the current circumstances in which we find ourselves.  Where can we go for hope and guidance?  Fortunately, the Bible is a timeless book that God has given us and covers enough history that it has very practical things to say for a time such as this.

This morning I was impressed with the way David responded to great difficulty in his life.  In fact, he says in Ps 31: 9,

“I am in distress!” (NET)

Many of us today are echoing the words of David.  In his situation, he had people seeking to kill him.  He was in danger and he felt it.  His situation impacted all of him.  His emotions were aroused, and he was alarmed because of the danger surrounding him and he was not afraid to tell God about it.  The question for us today is how do we respond under the pressures of life as it is impacting our emotions?  We should not ignore how we feel, instead, we need to follow David’s example and talk to God about it.

After expressing himself to God, in Ps 31:14-15 David shows us how he chose to respond to his circumstances.  He says,

“But I trust in you, O Lord! I declare, ‘You are my God!’ You determine my destiny! Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.” (NET)

The grammar in that passage is very emphatic.  To help clarify the meaning here, this passage could be understood to say,

“Contrary to what one might expect under the circumstances, I do not despair, but I surrender in trust to the hand of God” . . . naming Yahweh as the only source of hope.”^[1]

Even though his circumstances were screaming for him to panic, David chose not to despair and instead, he chose to trust God with his life regardless of the outcome. Like David, we must choose surrender and trust rather than despair.

Gerald Wilson makes a great observation about this passage when he says,

“Underlying the psalmist’s surrender is an understanding of life as made up of a series of DECISIVE MOMENTS in which a person can take either appropriate or inappropriate direction, depending on how he or she responds to the circumstances. One response is to seek to control and manipulate the situation to one’s advantage. That is clearly what the psalmist’s opponents are doing. The other way is to surrender one’s personal will to the power and authority of God…”^[2]

Like David, you and I are at a DECISIVE MOMENT in time. Will we stress and try to control, or will we simply surrender our will to God’s and trust him?  Together, let’s choose to yield to his leadership and trust him.

Father, my tendency is to try to make things happen when circumstances are not going as I expect.  I know that I must do my part, but when that is done, I need to surrender and trust in you as my God like David.  Into your hand do I commit my life.  Help me to live as someone who is trusting you with my life especially now.

Following Jesus with you,

^[1] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 532.

^[2] IBID, 532.