A 7-Day Truth TalkShembull

A psalm of David. I trust in the LORD for protection. So why do you say to me, "Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety! The wicked are stringing their bows and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings. They shoot from the shadows at those whose hearts are right. The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?" (Psa. 11:1–3)

David understood his options: he could either choose to be afraid of man (specifically Saul) and the world’s condition, or he could put his confidence in God. He wrote about this choice in Psalm 11. For years, David had run from King Saul. He had been waiting a long time for what he knew was coming: his chance to reign as king. David’s well-meaning friends were worried about his safety, and so they encouraged him to escape as fast as he could to the mountains. They could clearly see that David was in the crosshairs of Saul’s bow. Their advice for David was to panic, run, and hide!

Now, we can assume these were good friends, but their advice to David was not good, and they unintentionally pushed the narrative that David should fear rather than hope and trust in the Lord. David knew he could flee. But he also knew God’s hand alone was enough to protect him. So, David leaned into what he knew about God. He proclaimed to his friends, “I trust in the Lord for protection . . . But the LORD is in his holy Temple; the LORD still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth” (vs 4). With the Lord on the throne, David knew he was protected. Proclaiming this truth fortified David’s faith!

Okay, so what does this have to do with us? Just like David, we can look around us and be disheartened. We, too, might have well-meaning friends who encourage us to look to self for answers rather than upward to God. Like David, we can take God at His Word. Employ the truth of Scripture. Speak God’s truth to yourself. Today when you are tempted to look to yourself, intentionally look up instead to the God Who loves you and always has His eye on you.