A Faith That God Responds To
BRD REFLECTIONS
Genesis 23; Psalm 18:1-29 (NIV)
(Adriel Loh, Chairperson, Governance Committee)
READ:
Psalm 18:1-29 (NIV)
OBSERVE:
Psalm 18:1-29 can be broken into four key parts, each communicating a powerful truth:
Verses 1 to 3: The Psalmist makes a faith proclamation about God being his strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, shield and stronghold. These are powerful words that reveal the faith the Psalmist had in God.
Verses 4 and 5: These verses describe the present dire circumstances that the Psalmist was in. He refers to the pangs and snares of death, floods of ungodliness, and sorrows surrounding him.
Verses 6 to 19: The Psalmist cries out to God in his distress and the Lord responds. He spends 14 verses describing in great detail how God is moved to action and saves him.
Verses 20 to 27: The Psalmist reveals the underlying relationship he has with God. He has kept the ways of God and walked righteously before Him.
APPLY:
The above verses and their structure reveal a powerful truth. We all go through difficult and overwhelming times in our lives, just as the Psalmist did. But in these difficult times, we can, like the Psalmist, make bold and courageous proclamations of faith about how good God is, that He is our strength and deliverer. When the Psalmist did so, God responded and acted. This tells us that God responds to our faith. When we boldly make faith-filled proclamations, God hears and acts!
But the next part goes on to tell us about the underlying foundation that has to be there for the above to happen. The Psalmist walked right with God. He was in right relationship with Him. If we want to be able to have faith and proclaim faith in difficult circumstances, it can only come from an underlying spirituality and a relationship with God where we are walking daily in the righteousness of Christ.
DO:
I will walk daily in the righteousness of Christ and in close fellowship with Him. I will then be able to proclaim during the storm that He is my strength and my deliverer, and experience His deliverance and victory over darkness.
PRAY:
Dear Lord, help me to walk daily in the righteousness of Christ, that when the day of trouble comes, I will have the faith to proclaim that You are my strength and deliverer. I believe that as I cry out to you in my distress, You will rise and act to deliver me. Amen.
