Friday, 3 April 2020 Psalm 18:1-30
‘I love You, LORD! You are my strength. -Psalm 18:1[ERV]
What a joy it is this morning to read from this Psalm of David, who sang it from the depths of his heart. Every pilgrim will refresh his/her weary soul by drinking from this refreshing stream. It is like an oasis with pools of water to quench the wearied traveler whose feet are swollen from the heat and rest under shade of the palms that grow on the side of this oasis. Let us today take rest under the attributes mentioned about God ‘The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.’ (V. 2), which gives us confidence and grants us the victory.
The reason for this psalm is already mentioned in the very first verse itself. David the Psalmist was saved from his enemies and he clearly understood God’s protection. As we go through the Psalm, we understand the real dangers faced by the writer. But all this culminated into one thing: I love You Lord! The intended purpose of God is achieved only when we reach this point. Every trouble and attack from the enemies allowed by God in our life’s journey has one single purpose to achieve; to bring us under His shadow and protection and with our own eyes we see how God works in various ways and protects us. This in turn leads us to love Him more. Every personal deliverance we enjoy from God will assuredly draw us to love Him more and more. Do our troubles get us to this point?
This deep sense of love due to the salvation that we experience from our troubles brings us into the next blessing. Once the soul gets entangled with this source of eternal love, nothing can separate it. Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (Rom 8:35) This love once active works wonders for our soul. In other words, the inward foes of our soul are met on their ground. Great is the purifying power of this sublime affection, faith which is worked by love and purifies the heart. Our faith life changes drastically and due to this divine pure affection, all the other attractions of life fade away. No mortal beauty can captivate our soul. No mortal powers can disturb us from this affection towards the origin of true love itself. What a great mystery!
It not only destroys the inwards foes but also helps us gain our ground against the outward foes as well. Since we know our God, and after experiencing Him in a personal way, we will again face our enemies with much confidence that comes from our trust in God. He will surely supply us with all the strength required. That is why later in the Psalm we read: In Your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall… God arms me with strength, and He makes my way perfect. (Ps.18:29-32) As this confidence grows and faith builds up within us, we will explore great exploits for the Lord. '...but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.' (Daniel 11:32)
Prayer:
Dear Father in heaven, please show me the way to have victory over my foes; and help me to love you more intimately. In Jesus name. Amen.