Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking him to meet you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
I love you, Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I have been saved from my enemies.
The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.
– Psalm 18:1-6
Devotion
At some point during my life, I discovered that everyone faces difficult times. There is not a single person who is able to avoid difficult times. You are not immune to them and neither was David. David, who authored this psalm, faced many trials throughout the course of his life, yet he was able to say that he loved God. In fact, David’s images of God in Psalm 18 are personal and relational. To David, God represents his fortress (security), his shield (protection), and the “horn of my salvation” (power to deliver from enemies). Aren’t those all things that we desire when we are facing difficulties?
Even in the midst of the difficulties, David did not curse God but instead cried out to God in prayer. His response was not pity or anger but dependence on God for deliverance. Even in the darkest moments when we feel like God is at His furthest, God hears us. God is the very thing we need to endure the difficult times. David experienced this because of the personal relationship he had with God. To experience deliverance the way David did begins with a shift of perspective. We must take our eyes off of the difficulties we face and place them on God who is our security, protection and power to deliver us. I pray that you experience this deliverance today because of your relationship with God, as you discover that He is everything you need.
The Big Question
How do you typically respond to God in difficult times? How can you respond more like David when you face trials and difficulties?
Conclude in prayer and silence reflecting on what you’ve learned.