Psalm 31:6-8 (NLT)
"I hate those who worship worthless idols. I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to my enemies but have set me in a safe place."
There are so many great little phrases in those couple of verses, I just love it! Anyone who says the bible is just a book and not HIS LIVING WORD is absolutely crazy. This chapter has touched so deep into my soul, I can't even explain it. I wish that I had seen this chapter years ago. But I can stand here today and see that all His promises in this portion of His Word are real and true. Each line strikes a new chord in my heart. He is always watching, He is always looking out of me, He always cares for me even when I can't see it.
Let's look at this a little closer....
I felt like the beginning part didn't seem to fit when I first read it, but then I looked at it in The Message. "I hate all this silly religion, but in you, God, I trust." I LOVE that! That says so much in just a few words. It's not about my choice of denomination of church to attend, or what version of the bible I read, or whether I sit in a pew or a chair, or we sing hymns or contemporary songs...all that matters is that I have a relationship, a REAL relationship, with HIM! I just have to put my trust completely in Him. Bottom line.
Then I will choose to be glad and rejoice....and yes, I said it is a choice. Every day I choose to be happy with my life. I choose to remember that it could be worse. I choose to know that I am blessed. I choose to have joy in my heart every day. Does that mean I don't have bad days? Of course not, but I still choose to see that good in every day that I have. I could have died that day. My ex had my by the throat so tightly that I truly couldn't breath, I was scared for my life, I thought I would never see my girls again, the next day I had a bruise in the shape of a hand print around my throat. I could have been killed. But God wouldn't allow that. He saved me then, just as He continues to save me for harm today, even ones that I may not even know about. So yes, I choose to be glad and rejoice every day that I can.
Not only do I rejoice....but I rejoice in His unfailing love. Dictionary.com defines unfailing as "not giving way, not falling short of expectation, completely dependable, endless". WOW! Not falling short of expectation....those are some powerful words, don't you think? A love that can never let you down. A love that is always dependable. A love that no matter what you do, will never ever go away.
And if that's not enough, God has seen my troubles and He cares about the anguish of my soul....that thought just warms my heart so much, even today. No matter what it is that upsets me, He cares about it. We constantly try to put God in an earthly sized box, we don't understand how He can be concerned about so many people so deeply at the same time. Here's a thought that stuck out to me lately....you know how if you really have to remember something, you write it on your hand? Whether it's to remember to be somewhere, or a phone number, or to get milk on the way home....that's where you put that things that you absolutely can't forget. Someone reminded me lately that God has MY name written on the palm of His hand. A constant reminder that He needs to remember me. He cares. Did you hear me? HE CARES!
And finally in this short few lines of Psalm 31...He has not handed me to my enemies, but put me in a safe place. For a long time I didn't know what safe even meant. I was afraid so much, that I walked on eggshells continuously to keep the peace. To avoid his anger. But God removed me from the horrible nightmare and put me into a safe place. Not a place with guns for protection, or a place where the ex doesn't exist, or a place where I hide from the world...but a truly safe place, in the arms of a loving Daddy, but also in the arms of a man who loves and protects me every day because God told him to.
So yes, I trust God and take joy every day in the safe place He has put me.
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