Joel M Bradshaw

14But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”
15My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!–Psalm 31

We don’t know what specific trouble David faced in this psalm. But David faced many enemies through his life. He had a season being chased by murderous King Saul. He even had a later season being hounded by his rebellious son Prince Absalom. The peaceful kingdom that Solomon would inherit was provided by God through the many battles of David. David always faced an enemy and so his words are very relatable to us as we face ours.

For many of us our enemies are fear, anger, anxiety, depression, loneliness, worry, grief, and pain. We struggle with addictions and endure illnesses. We battle disappointment and bitterness, broken relationships, infertility, and unemployment. Jealousies and envies lock us down and we care too much about the opinions of others. In the middle of all we face, what do we do? David gave us 4 steps:

1. TRUST GOD.
2. LEAN UPON YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
3. SEE NOT ONLY YOUR IMMEDIATE SITUATION, BUT ALL YOUR LIFE IN GOD’S HAND.
4. NOW BRING YOUR REQUEST TO GOD.

These verses are always at the ready and in my self-talk quiver ready to fire away at my thought life. The word for ‘times’ is plural. All our times are in his hand–the good, the bad, the easier, the seemingly impossible. So this means that steps 1-4 are always on the table. They do assume that you do already trust God and follow him in faith. We can chat if you don’t yet would like to trust God in your situation. But if you already do, then do!–JMB