Psalms 18 – 20
Verse 18:2 sums up how we need to look at God:
The Eternal is my rock, my fortress, and my salvation;
He is my True God, the stronghold in which I hide,
my strong shield, the horn that calls forth help, and my tall-walled tower.
We tend to fall away from God when things are not as we desire. But more often than not, God is being our Rock is limiting our desires more for what we need. I know over the years we have had things come up that have been our saving grace, or what we though was our saving grace, only to have it fall away. Then 6 years later it makes sense and we see life in a different light.
We had a land deal that would have cleared our debt and given us capital to buy the building our business was in. That fell through and shortly after that I got a “real” job and eventually the business closed. As we chugged along slowly paying the debt, we considered walking away from it and declaring bankruptcy. But that “deal” was still in the back of our heads. Well 6 years later our debt is reduced greatly from hard work and perseverance, as God desired, and we now have another similar deal.
I am still waiting for the finish, but one thing is for sure, God is in the mix. He has been steadfast and on task, not listening to my selfish desires. If all were to fail, again faith that something is on the horizon that will be better for the future. But all in all, this feels right. Timing seems awful, then amazingly makes sense.
Verses 19:12 & 13 hit me:
12 Who could possibly know all that he has done wrong?
Forgive my hidden and unknown faults.
13 As I am Your servant, protect me from my bent toward pride,
and keep sin from ruling my life.
If You do this, I will be without blame,
innocent of the great breach.
This is something I pray often, since I forget what I have done throughout the day and often need a smack upside the head to ensure I am repenting the right things. Repentance is ok, when you stop doing it, but is shallow otherwise. Again if we ask for general repentance without actually knowing what is wrong we fall short of what is asked.
The biggest problem in life is pride since it hurts everything we do. If we live towards others and less on our self, we tend to have peace. I know when things get out of control it’s when I think I am in the right and have to win. Doesn’t matter if the truth is being rammed down my throat, pride will have me dismiss this and move forward.
David is saying to humble yourself before the Lord and be open to his guidance. Learn to be humble and not prideful, to be able to understand God’s instructions. This way you can see your sin and pride.