Day 10 - Psalm 28

So this is one of those "more questions than answers" moments.  David opens up by acknowledging his absolute reliance on God.  He says, "If you don't answer, if you're not there, then I'm lost.  And oh, by the way, cut down those folks that don't follow you."

What?  Didn't Jesus say to love your enemies?  "Do good to them which hate you" (Luke 6:27).  But David was a man after God's own heart...he wouldn't say something so directly in conflict with what His Son taught, right?

It's almost laughable that with our finite minds and bloated sense of self, we feel like we even have the capability to fully understand and appreciate what God has given us through His word. Why would David pray for God to cut down anyone? Didn't anyone ever tell him "be careful what you ask for"?  No one has earned or deserves the grace that God extends.

But David was being open and honest with the Lord.  David knew...I mean with down deep, behavior changing conviction...KNEW that God could see into every corner of his heart.  The Lord knew the good, the bad, and the ugly (even before the film, how cool is that?).  So David saw no value in hiding anything from the Lord.  David's zeal for the Lord was the source of that prayer.  David wanted to see God's justice poured out upon those that were flippant with His holy name...who knew but failed to repent and follow.

So why do we have such a hard time peeling off all the trappings of this temporal place to have an honest discussion in prayer with our Father?  I mean, do you think you're pulling one over on Him if you only say the "good things"?  He knows your heart...He knows mine.  David's example is not in contradiction.  It's the honest prayer of a man who realized the omnipresence and omniscience of God.

Beyond the holy Q&A, we can't miss that regardless of how God chooses to answer David's prayer, David keeps his bearings.  He doesn't lose focus on what's most important...recognizing God's involvement in his life.  David says the Lord is his "strength, his shield", that "my heart trusted in him and I am helped." That was it and that was enough.  David's heart trusted in the Lord and he was helped.

May it be so with you and with me for all the days the Lord has chosen to bless us with...that our hearts may trust (I mean really trust) in the Lord and be helped.

- submitted by Norm and Melissa Wilson