Sing!

Sing!

But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. Psalm 59:16 KJV

David sure had a lot of enemies. Long before he was even anointed as king over Israel, he had been fighting. At a time, it was against lions and bears who would steal or kill the sheep of his father's flock. Later, it would be ignorant Goliath mocking the God of David who he did not know, and we see God giving David victory over these situations. Later, it would be king Saul himself, seeking to kill David, and today's extract is one of the songs of David talking about this experience. A man of destiny will always face danger. It is a part of the development of a man of destiny that he would face situations that will prove the quality of the vision and direction of his life. As I take stock again this morning, can I say of a truth that I am indeed a man of destiny? Have I found, met and experienced this same God that David knew and celebrated daily, or am I still in a search for the right foundation for my life? 

It must get to a point in my life when all that matters is the God I know and no one else. David saw all the evil plans of king Saul and he prayed that God would disgrace all those evil plans. However, it did not end there: David prayed for defeat for his enemies, but he made sure to preserve his walk with God. It can be pretty distracting sometimes, when there are mountains in your path, and there is a temptation to focus on the mountain and not the God who is greater than any mountain. The devil will have me fixate on the problem and not the Presence. The more I fix my gaze on the problem, the bigger it seems to get and the more distant God seems. However, God does not change, and if he seems far away from me, maybe I should be checking where I stand, and if I have moved away from him. 

David had made up his mind to sing of God's power, because he had a personal experience of him. Too many times, we focus on the symbols and the images and miss the essence of His presence. We get caught up in daily living that we forget the source of true life Himself. Does anything inspire you to sing of God's goodness? Do you have any personal experience that is a constant reminder of God's faithfulness and mercy over your life? If there is none you can point to at the moment, it is not too late to start making the right memories now. It is the same God David sang about that is still the God of my time now. He wants to be real in my life, and I must let him have his way so He can be all that he can be in me. 

And it will not be all these quiet, inner and sober singing; it will be one where the world will know where I stand and who I know. David would not sing quietly, but had made up his mind to sing aloud so all men could know his allegiance. Do men know my allegiance? Can they say of a truth where I stand and who I know and worship? I could say one thing while my life says the other, but God cannot be deceived. He knows my heart, and he knows if there is any hypocrisy or insincerity in it. Men will always seek to do evil; I can choose to focus on man's schemes or I can choose to focus on God's grace. The choice of focus is always mine; the end of either focus has already been made clear by God. 

David knew his God, and knew what He could do. He saw God as a refuge and a defence here, just as he saw God as other things at other times. The day of trouble is non-negotiable. I cannot do anything to stop the day from coming, but I can sort out my reaction and response to that day before it comes. David did not say these words by accident, but they were the product of a private life of devotion and prayer, long before the public events happened. We focus on creating the right impressions, seeking to please and impress men, forgetting that in the long run, opinions of men do not really matter. My quiet time with God is the season of preparation for the day of trouble. Daniel did not just decide to refuse the king's meat; it was the result of a life of quiet devotion, even in exile. Location and opportunity did not impact his decision; he was going to stand for God, no matter what the external circumstances were. 

Can this be said of me too or do I need to sort out my private devotion? Am I all about optics and audio, with no private substance that God can hold on to? Have I met this God who David knew so well that this God had to call him a man after his own heart? Does God even know where my allegiance lies or am I all about what I can get from him and not so much about how I can know more about him? No matter the drama that goes on around me, it must never affect my daily walk and experience of God. It is that walk that will sustain me in the day of trouble and uncertainty. It is that daily walk that will keep me focused, so that no matter what comes my way, I can sing daily about God's goodness and grace. God is still very much in the business of doing great things, and as long as I hold on to him alone, I will always have reasons to sing. His time of favour is here.