Free & Fit - Summer with the Psalms - Tuesday 18th June Psalm 18
Summer with the Psalms
Tuesday 18th June Psalm 18
“I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path. But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears. Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the mountains shook; they quaked because of his anger. Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him. He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath his feet. Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew, soaring on the wings of the wind. He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dark rain clouds. Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him and rained down hail and burning coals. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded amid the hail and burning coals. He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; great bolts of lightning flashed, and they were confused. Then at your command, O Lord, at the blast of your breath, the bottom of the sea could be seen, and the foundations of the earth were laid bare. He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the Lord supported me. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me. The Lord rewarded me for doing right; he restored me because of my innocence. For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not turned from my God to follow evil. I have followed all his regulations; I have never abandoned his decrees. I am blameless before God; I have kept myself from sin. The Lord rewarded me for doing right. He has seen my innocence. To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity. To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. You rescue the humble, but you humiliate the proud. You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall. God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock? God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights. He trains my hands for battle; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow. You have given me your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me; your help has made me great. You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping. I chased my enemies and caught them; I did not stop until they were conquered. I struck them down so they could not get up; they fell beneath my feet. You have armed me with strength for the battle; you have subdued my enemies under my feet. You placed my foot on their necks. I have destroyed all who hated me. They called for help, but no one came to their rescue. They even cried to the Lord, but he refused to answer. I ground them as fine as dust in the wind. I swept them into the gutter like dirt. You gave me victory over my accusers. You appointed me ruler over nations; people I don’t even know now serve me. As soon as they hear of me, they submit; foreign nations cringe before me. They all lose their courage and come trembling from their strongholds. The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock! May the God of my salvation be exalted! He is the God who pays back those who harm me; he subdues the nations under me and rescues me from my enemies. You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies; you save me from violent opponents. For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations; I will sing praises to your name. You give great victories to your king; you show unfailing love to your anointed, to David and all his descendants forever.”
Psalms 18:1-50 NLT
Pastor Tim’s Reflection
Who can you depend on in times of trouble? Where do you turn to in your darkest hour? The Psalmist for today is clear and seeks for others to know where to turn when experiencing times of difficulty. The God of Heaven is perfect and His ways are true. This is ALWAYS the answer of course…. that we can depend upon, rely upon and always turn to Jesus in our time of need.
It is so easy to become consumed with worry, concerns and challenges in our every day lives that we can forget God & turn back to our old way of life. The devil prowls around like a Lion waiting for opportunities to redirect us down a dark road, but God wants to train us in better ways, Holy ways & more righteous ways that keep us out of trouble, in line with His Will and back to His good & perfect plan for our lives.
Today we again have this choice to make. To plan to be able to overcome the obstacles of our days with confidence in God. In order to do that we need to test ourselves, instead of trying to be dependent upon our own strength and following our own agenda. We need a better plan, a process and solution from God and a way to get there immediately. With this in mind we can start to test look at our spiritual temperature. How do we feel and how do we respond in moments of despair? What precautions can we take in these moments? How can we get better in crises?
The Bible offers us hope. That if we can reduce our pride, not become consumed with guilt and centre ourselves. It’s possible to overcome the problem. We have to stop. Confess, seek forgiveness and pray to God for an absolute turn around in our circumstances. If we can speak to God, either silently or aloud, we can invite the Holy Spirit to come into our situation, resolve our problem and grant us wisdom in how to respond. Let us pray for this right now!
Prayer
Father today I need you in every minute of every moment of my life to make Holy, Righteous and Good decisions. Help me to say Yes to you and No to the Devil. Yes to Peace and no to Chaos. Yes to Jesus and no to the Evil of this world. Thank you Lord for hearing my prayer, for saving me again today and for your Holy Spirits presence in guiding through it all. Thank you Lord in Jesus name. Amen
“So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.”
Lamentations 3:26 NLT
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