Walking in Faith

God is my refuge, my fortress and my rock. He will deliver me (v3), He will cover me (v4) and I will not fear (v5). He does this because of His deep love for me. I don’t deserve this. I have done nothing in my life that would warrant God being my protect and yet He does so willingly. What does that tell me about my God? He loves me even though I have done nothing to deserve it. Certainly, I can relate that to my wife and my kids. It doesn’t matter what they do, what they say, or how they act — I will always love them. Pride gets in the way with man and that is when the actions of our loved ones start to affect our relationship. Unless we have a deep rooted belief that God will leave us because we have done something wrong, we are lying to ourselves. We are made in the image (characteristics) of God. He forgives us time and time again no matter what we do or say (save perhaps sinning against the Spirit). Yet, we consistently find it difficult to forgive. We find it easier (and more comfortable) to find ways out of a situation instead of forgiving and returning to that person. To take an extreme example, if one of my kid’s murdered someone, would I forgive them and still love them? Absolutely. Would I be terribly saddened by the loss and the sin? Of course! I know this is an extreme example but it is relevant to how God forgives us. I don’t think many would argue that if a person was on death row but truly repented of their sins and asked Christ into their heart, God would forgive them and accept them into His family. Why should it be different for us? Are we more advanced, more knowledgeable, more just than He? Of course not! We must listen to our Father and be obedient to Him more than anything else. That means that we follow His example of forgiving, His example of providing though not worthy. I am not worthy of my wife but God has a different plan in place. I am blessed just to have her in my life.

Verses 11 through 13 are incredibly interesting to ponder…

For He will command His angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder;
    the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

God loves me so much that He has put me a step above the angels. He has them working to protect me. He will work on their hands to protect me and provide for me. That is an extremely humbling thought. Angels are the heavenly hosts and yet they working for the Lord to provide for me. God is so gracious and forgiving. He does all of this even though I sin against Him countless times every single day. I am amazed by His grace and His love. I have so much to learn and so much growing to do in order to truly serve the Lord with all of my heart, with all of your mind and with all of my soul.

The end of this Psalm is the part that really peaks my interest, however… “Because He holds fast to me in love…”

1. He will deliver me.
2. He will protect me.
3. He will answer me when I call.
4. He will be with me.
5. He will rescue me.
6. He will honor me.
7. He will satisfy me.
8. He will show me His salvation.

Thank you, Father God, for doing all of this for me when I have done nothing to deserve you. Thank you for your great love and compassion. I pray that I can live my life every single day in a way that is closer and closer to the way You call me to live. I pray that the light I can shine into people’s lives would be Your light instead of a worldly light. I thank you, Father, for Your great Word that motivates and inspires me beyond my imagination. You are amazing! Thank you, Father.