Staff Devotion 8 (2)

Intro

Hello! As we enter into a new week, I look forward to hearing how your services went this past Sunday. For the next few weeks, let’s move back into the Psalms for our Monday Morning Devotions!

The Psalms are full of beautiful poetry and imagery. Psalm 3 is no stranger to these attributes. Psalm 3 is one of the most beautiful pieces of Scripture ever written, so, let’s take our time and walk through this Psalm together. The first two verses of this Psalm are full of principle and instruction as we learn to share our problems with God!

Tell The Lord What They Do

Remember, David is being very vulnerable and raw with God as God inspires his cries. He cries out to the Lord as his own son, Absalom, betrays him and hunts him. David had it all! Fame, riches, power, influence, but none of those things can protect us from problems. David is learning that first hand. So, he cries out to the Lord in pain and anguish.

Psalm 3:1 “Lord, How are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me.”

He comes to the Lord with his real pain and real problems and does not think for a moment to hide them. He says “Lord, there are so many who are against me right now, they are rising up against me to take my life!” There is pain in these words. He comes to the Lord with painful loneliness and fear in his heart. As he reaches out to God, he expects God to respond.

This is what is modeled in Scripture for us. God wants us to come to Him as lonely, painful, broken vessels and expect the Potter to work! When a pot is broken, there are many ways to fix it. The most extreme way is to grind the pot back down to dust, wet it into clay, and mold it into something else. Isn’t this what God does when He saves our soul? He remolds us into the image of Christ. So, when we cry out to God, expect to be reshaped, remolded, renewed.

Tell the Lord What They Say

Then be specific! David was.

Psalm 3:2 “Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.”

David had betrayed his family and his God, but he sought repentance. The same “many” from verse 1 are now looking to David with a false holy vengeance saying “There is no help for him! God has betrayed him!” They did this so that they could justify the hunt. However, 2 Samuel shows us that Absalom and his crew were the ones going against God. Why?

Because David repented truly.

When true repentance takes place, we can expect God to forgive us and remain on our side! Let no one say to you, “there is no help for him in God.” If they do, tell the Lord what they say! Be specific with your problems. God wants to hear them.

During VBS last week at Genesis one of the most powerful lessons taught us the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Elijah mocked the prophets because their “god” couldn’t hear them. YHWH God proved that He could hear His children always and He consumed the altar and everything around it with fire.

God listens, talk to Him!

Conclusion

Ministry work can be exhausting — it can be lonely. Sometimes we can feel like David, as if the world is against us. Don’t buy into the lies of the enemy. Rather follow the command in James 4:6–8 “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”