One of my favorite Psalms is one written by David, Psalm 34. What makes it so impactful to me is the history of what he was dealing with when he wrote it. Saul, the king of Israel, had gathered an army of 3,000 men solely to hunt down David and his family to execute them. David had done no wrong, in fact he had faithfully served Saul for many years. It was jealousy that drove him to kill David.
So David hid his family and fled to the country of the Philistines who were enemies of Israel. Because they knew David had been a great leader of Israel’s army, the Philistines did not trust him. Fearing that they would kill him, David faked losing his mind. He wandered around erratically in filthy tattered clothes, drooling, and mumbling irrationally. So there he was, falsely accused, running for his life, isolated from his family, humiliated in front of his enemies, and he writes;
I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
I believe there are some lessons we can learn from David and Psalms 34 in dealing with the challenges we presently face.
1. His attitude towards God was not dictated by his circumstances.
2. He found that from seeking God came freedom from fear.
3. Even in the midst of his great trouble, he encouraged others to worship God.
4. He chose not to speak harshly, nor treat badly, those who had done so to him.
5. He was fully aware that life was filled with difficult challenges but he was also convinced God was his deliverer!
I encourage you to find some time today and read Psalms 34 in it’s entirety, then follow David’s example—bless the Lord at all times and let praise be continually in your mouth. It will dispel fear and help you to be a blessing to those around you.
We can accomplish whatever needs to be done through him that strengthens us.
Pastor Steve
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