PSALM 11

1 To the Chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David. In the LORD I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, “Flee [as] a bird to your mountain”? 2 For look! The wicked bend [their] bow, They make ready their arrow on the string, That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart. 3 If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do? 4 The LORD [is] in His holy temple, The LORD’s throne [is] in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. 5 The LORD tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. 6 Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind [Shall be] the portion of their cup. 7 For the LORD [is] righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.

PSALM 11:1-7

DON’T FORGET TO TRUST IN THE LORD ON HARD DAYS TOO

David begins this Psalm by stating his explicit trust in God. You don’t have to question him. You don’t have to wonder. It is not ambiguous. He declares it from the get go. He puts his trust in the LORD!

What do we trust in? Where is our hope? Who do we cling to and what do we depend on? It’s one thing to say we trust God. That looks good on paper. It sounds good coming from our mouths. It’s different to actually trust Him. What about when life meets conflict. When there is turmoil, where do we turn? 

Do we trust God on just the good days? Days when everything is going our way? Days when there is more paycheck than problems? Days where we are comfortable? Days when our teams win? Days when the sun shines? Days when the biggest buck comes out to our stand? Days when others honor us? Days when we are well known and respected? Do we trust God then? 

What about the bad days? What about when hurt arises? What about when we feel pain and we don’t know why? What about when we miss our loved ones who have gone on? What about when we have been injured by the senseless action of others? What about when we have been hurt and betrayed? Do we just trust God then? 

David puts no qualifier on his statement! He simply states that it is the LORD who has all of his trust! And why shouldn’t God have all of his trust? It was God who sent Samuel to anoint a little shepherd boy. It was God who looked past the outward appearance and saw the heart. It was God who defeated Goliath through the hands of David in the Valley of Elah. God has lead David through trouble in the past, He will lead him now! 

So David is troubled by the good counsel, but not Godly counsel that his friends offer. They beg him to flee for his life. Live to fight another Day. But David won’t have any of it. If we trust God in the green and grassy meadows, we must also trust him in the valley of the shadow of death and especially in the presence of our enemies.

We are reminded that it is Jesus who promises us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. It is the Good Shepherd whose presence comforts us when we go through the valley of the Shadow of Death. He is the one we trust. He has never truly abandoned us. He has always been with us. Even when we couldn’t see.

PRAYER

Father, I am reminded of your goodness to me. I don’t have the same story as David, but I do know that there were several moments where I put my trust in you and I saw your greatness displayed in my own life. I confess there is a time and a place to make sure that I’m not being reckless, but there is a time to step into adversity with boldness knowing that you will hold me up. Help me to know the difference. I pray that I would never miss a Goliath moment in my life because I thought too much or me and too little of you. I put my trust in you LORD! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I’m reading and blogging the Psalms Through The Summer. I’d love for you to join me. You can find out a little more here.