Bible Reading Blog
“God's Steadfast Love”
Categories: Congregational Bible ReadingBIBLE READING: Psalm 57
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.” (Psalm 57.9-10)
Although David is remembered as a man after God’s own heart, his life was often troubled and tumultuous. Early on, his military success put him at odds with king Saul who saw David as a threat (1 Samuel 18.15, 28-29). At least twice Saul tried to pin David to the wall with a spear (1 Samuel 18.11). Ultimately, David was forced to live on the run as Saul pursued him with military force (1 Samuel 24.2).
You can imagine the distress in David’s heart and mind. He was in such chaos he pretended to be a madman (1 Samuel 21.13-15). Emotionally he became desperate, trying to convince himself everything will be ok. “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast!” (Psalm 57.7)
These are the circumstances in which he penned Psalm 57. You would expect the fervid emotions, but this psalm is also surprisingly optimistic. Although hiding out in a cave with his enemy around the corner, David gave glory to God and affirmed what he believed God would do (Psalm 57.2-3). David’s prayer reminds us how critical it is to not only seek God but to praise him in difficult situations.
“God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!... Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!” (Psalm 57.3, 5)
We can speak boldly about how much we trust God, but the rubber meets the road when situations are beyond our control. Do we trust that God is faithful to do what he said he will do? God had promised David the throne (1 Samuel 16.1, 13) and David trusted this would happen. When situations seem desperate, our natural inclination is to consider our options when, instead, we need to rehearse the promises of God. “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13.5)… “Trust in the LORD with all your heart… he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3.5-6).
The hardest part of faith is waiting and trusting. We want suffering to end now. We want resolution from our situation so we can move on. We want to see the goodness of God at work in our current situation. This will almost never happen on our time schedule (Ecclesiastes 3.11). We must learn to wait on the Lord (Psalm 27.14). As with David, “God is a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46.1). When things seem helpless, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel for those who trust in God. We must resolve to affirm God’s faithfulness and power by remembering what he has done for believers like David.
“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.” (Psalm 27.13)
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us…” (Psalm 46.10-11)
