Abiding in the PsalmsSample

Setting aside troubles

This psalm is an individual lament which means that David is crying out to God in his time of need.

I don’t know about you, but when I have hard things going on or I am stressed or anxious about something, the first place this shows is in my sleep. I start sleeping badly, or waking up in the middle of the night; maybe it takes me longer than normal to fall asleep. There is even that saying “don’t lose sleep over it”. 

In this psalm, David is in “distress” (v1), and he is crying out to God. He is frustrated at the people he is leading and calls them to repent (v4-5) to God for their idolatry of other gods, apart from the God of Israel. When the people around him are asking who will make them rich (v6) and who will give them everything they need, David reminds himself that only God can provide all that we need. He believes this to the point where, when all this turmoil is happening around him, and people are looking everywhere else but God for what they need, he can confidently say in verse 8:

8 In peace I will lie down and sleep,
 for you alone, Lord,
 make me dwell in safety.

This reminds me of Matthew 6 where Jesus says:

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]? …34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

What a comfort it is knowing whose we are, and He will always take care of us. 

Pray

Thank God for the ways He has cared for you in your life, and ask Him to help you in areas that you feel you need care for now.