You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? When I cry out to You, then my enemies will turn back; this I know, because God is for me. (Psalm 56:8-9)
In an earlier psalm, David stated that “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way” (Psalm 37:23). That being so, we should accept the fact that this includes the steps that occasionally distance us from loved ones; and the steps that seem to lead us away from our God-ordained destiny. Almost as soon as David was anointed by Samuel to be the next king, his steps were hurried as he sought to avoid capture and execution at the hand of Saul. Not only was he was separated from his family and home but, at times, it seemed that reigning as Israel’s king seemed unlikely.
But in spite of all, David believed that the Lord would bring His will to pass. Rather than ignoring his trials, the Lord was taking note of everything, including all the steps that resulted from his wanderings and all the tears he had shed in the process. In regard to the notion that God stores our tears in a bottle, one has to wonder whether David was speaking poetically or prophetically. If God “counts the number of the stars and calls them all by name” (Psalm 147:4); if He numbers the hairs of our head (Matthew 10:30), it seems likely that He keeps track of our tears as well, especially those provoked by persecution and oppression.
Here is the point: David makes it clear that our God is well aware of every aspect of our life; no detail is too small or great that He doesn’t take note. It may be that He allows us to be subjected to tears and wandering, but when we cry out to Him in our distress, our God will answer. Furthermore, when it becomes obvious that God is with us, our enemies will retreat because, as it is written, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
Recent Comments