A Road Map for Life | Beginning With GodSample

WILL YOU? (Psalm 18)

This psalm is 50 verses long and has so many wonderful things in it, but there is no way we can cover all of it in this space. I encourage you to read it in its entirety.

For example, the phrase “thy gentleness hath made me great” in verse 35 is, I believe, one of the great expressions in Scripture. There are nuggets like this throughout the psalm.

But I want to focus now on how it begins. In the opening verses, we learn something about David, something about God, and certainly something about ourselves.

This psalm gives a very specific historical context. As a matter of fact, there is a title connected to it that is detailed: “To the chief musician, a psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: and he said …”

That is a fairly specific introduction, I would say. So we know this psalm was written when God had given David great deliverance from Saul and from his enemies. I have an idea that David probably sang this often throughout his lifetime and led others to sing it as he reviewed God’s goodness in his life. That is a good example for all of us.

Psalm 18 begins this way: “I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.”

Those three verses set the tone and the theme for the entire psalm. Did you notice the repetition of the phrase “I will” in all three verses? It is an expression of his response to what God has done and who God is.

“Want” and “will” are two very different things. Your wants are your desires, but your will is what you choose to do. There are many people who want the Lord and the right things but never follow through. David exercised his will and chose it. He said, “I will.”

We do that when standing at the marriage altar. The groom is asked, “Will you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” and he answers, “I will.” But that exercise of will must be done not only on the wedding day but every day that follows.

Life is a matter of the will. Men and women were created with a conscience and allowed free choice. You must exercise your own will. You cannot choose for someone else and no one else can choose for you.

The sad thing is that most people are governed by their emotions and not their will. God gave you a will to lead your emotions, not to follow them. Many mornings when I get out of bed, I don’t feel like doing it but I choose to because I need to. Often I don’t feel like reading my Bible or praying but I must will myself to do so.

You will find that as you exercise your will, it gets stronger. As it moves in the right direction, eventually your emotions catch up.

The Lord is worthy of your will. David mentioned Him specifically in each of these first three verses. The only way for your will to be used the right way is for it to be yielded to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Notice the descriptions of God by David: “rock … fortress … deliverer … strength … buckler … high tower … worthy to be praised.” A good way to motivate your will to do the right thing is to meditate on who your God is — how wonderful and great He is. The goodness of God will lead you to repentance.

Meditating on the greatness of God will put everything else in your life in proper perspective, and put your priorities in the right order. The Lord is worthy of you exercising your will.

We must labor to use our will. How are we to do this?

1. Love the Lord. David expressed that in the very first words of the psalm. Do you love the Lord today? Love is a decision of the will, not a whim of emotion. It is connected to faith, not feeling. It is a commitment.

The Bible says in Ps. 116:1, “I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.” Both psalms illustrate a connection between your prayer life and your love life. The more time you spend in His presence, and the more you see your prayers answered, the more love you will have for Him. It always begins with loving God.

2. Trust the Lord. He is worthy of your trust. No matter what is happening to you right now, say to Him, “Lord, I trust that you love me so much to never choose the wrong thing for my life.”

3. Call upon the Lord. This is the progression in these verses. If you love someone, you will trust and also communicate with that person.

Take time today to talk to God. Tell Him you love Him and trust Him.

David said repeatedly, “I will.” My question for you is this: Will you?