This God!

This God!

Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day, even the God Who is our salvation! Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! Psalm 68:19 AMPC

The Context and Focus:

There is something powerful and undeniable about personal experience. A man can read up something about God, and the head knowledge stays there. Another person can take that same knowledge, seek even more by study and meditation, and then come to an even deeper knowledge and experience of the same God. Two people, with the same level of exposure to information about God, can come to two different conclusions about this same God. This is why walking with God is first and foremost a personal encounter, long before it can ever be seen as a public testimony. This is what the writer of this psalm knew so much about, because he is the one the bible refers to as 'a man after God's heart'. There were a lot of things the bible reveals about the person and identity of David, and a few are again highlighted in today's verse. He was a man who knew the power and impact of praise, and he would do so daily, as well as frequently. He found a way to praise God in every situation, no matter how dangerous or dicey. Even in quiet times, while he was keeping his father's sheep, he would sing. How would God ignore such a fervent and devoted worshipper? 

The Message:

God has not changed one bit, and he has also not moved an inch. He is called the One with the 'Everlasting Arms' for so many reasons, and one of them could be about his name and nature, which is Eternal and unchangeable. He is the I AM, who is all I need, who has all I could ever need, and who will still be God, long after this present heaven and earth cease to exist. This is just a tiny bit about the God that David seeks to introduce us to, and he would lay the example by praising and blessing God for who He is. Too many times, we are distracted by what we want, that we forget to even praise God for who He is. We focus on the need, forgetting that in God, all that we need for life and Godliness have been made available. All we have to do is to ask, and to keep asking, until our joy is full. As the verse above says, He bears our burdens and carries us day by day. He never forgets his duties to us on a daily basis, and he is never on leave or out-of-station. He is not like man who can forget his duties, or even if he does not, may not have capacity or ability to do as he promised. You are dealing with a God of awesome power, who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or imagine, according to his power at work in us. 

The Conclusion:

The above is just one of the many ways to describe the God who is on our side, the same One David knew and followed centuries ago, and is still very much the same God today. However, as I read the latter part of the verse above, it could be that this is the foundation for the whole verse: "the God Who is our salvation". With all that God can do, this is the greatest gift given, where a mortal man, who had fallen into sin and deserved death as the punishment, could be saved from the power of sin, and guaranteed eternal life with God. It is amazing that an immortal God could care for the life and destiny of mortal men, but when you consider the heart of love that God has, you know this is not a fluke. The very place where the first sin was committed is the same place where the plan of salvation was put in place. The verse asks us to pause, and calmly think of all the above. If I could just take time out, and reflect on all the blessings I have received, there will be no need to compel me to praise God. What are you waiting for? God's time of favour is here.