But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me. Make Your face shine upon Your servant; save me for Your mercies’ sake. (Psalm 31:14-16)
In spite of feeling broken and lost, David nevertheless resolved within himself that everything — the good and the bad — is in God’s hand. As it is written, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” (Psalm 37:23). And if everything is in God’s hand, the righteous person can, and should, rest in the knowledge that evil men will not have the final say in any matter. God alone determines the outcome of every situation, as well as the length of days required for the situation to render the intended result.
As Solomon said, there is a time for every season and every season has a reason (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Some of those seasons are not necessarily the most desirable – e.g. a time to weep, to kill and to die — but they are apparently necessary. While we are in the midst of these less desirable seasons, it is easy to think that they will never end — that this is life for the rest of our lives. That, however, is not really accurate; just as winter becomes spring, the season of loss, despair and tribulation will give way to birth, healing and laughter. One day the sense of feeling lost will give way to the reality that God’s face is shining upon His servants.
It might interest you to know that the Hebrew word translated as “good man” in Psalm 37 is more literally translated as “strong man.” The inference is that, if God orders one’s steps — if all our times are in His hands — then everything He allows to touch our lives is in the interest of making us stronger people in Him. I heard it said that faith is like a muscle, and as such, it must be built up through exercise and hard work. Were it not for the less desirable times, we might not have as much opportunity to work and test our faith muscle. Furthermore, if it were not for the less desirable times, we might not truly appreciate the more desirable times. In the end, our trust in the LORD must allow for Him to keep our life in His hand; and if it is in His hand, it is not in the hand of our enemies, nor is it in ours. And so we declare, “O Lord; You are my God.”
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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