Hey Fam! I know it's been a while since I posted on here, so I figured it was time for me to tell y’all what the LORD has been teaching me recently.
I was really excited about this Track season, so when spring sports were suspended indefinitely, I was sad, disappointed, and extremely frustrated. I was especially excited about this season because most of the distance kids on my team, including me, trained in the off-season in hopes of qualifying for State in some events. In other words, I think we had a really good team this year. I’m sure that many of you are experiencing or know someone experiencing the frustration of not having a spring sports season this year. I am deeply sympathetic to everyone who has these same feelings. That being said, I’m not writing this to dump all my frustration on you guys, so let’s get on with the post.
Last week, my Dad gathered up the family so we could read the Bible together. After we read the assigned Bible passages for the day, Dad asked us all to pick a verse and journal about it. These are my thoughts on the verse that stuck out to me.
Psalm 57:7
My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises!
When David wrote this Psalm, his situation was anything but ideal. Saul was chasing David around the country and trying to kill him. That does not sound like the best time to sing to the LORD, but David still chose to praise God.
I love David’s heart in this Psalm. I can see that he truly trusted in the LORD. David trusted God with all his heart. David was confident in God. Confidence is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as, “Confidence: full of conviction: CERTAIN”. David was CERTAIN that his God is powerful. David was CERTAIN that God saves people. David was CERTAIN that God is sovereign and works out everything for His good. This is the reason that David could praise the LORD. David knew the character of God and trusted that God always has a plan, even in the worst circumstances.
Too often in my life I think that I can’t praise God unless I feel like it. But this way of thinking is so wrong. When Dad asked me to read the Bible with my family, I didn’t want to because I was mad at God for allowing Track to be suspended. I didn’t know what was going to happen in the future. I hated my situation and just wanted God to fix it for me. But God does not to be my genie; God wants to be my friend. God wants me to trust Him as David did and praise Him not because my life is amazing, but because He is!
This Psalm made me wonder if my heart is confident in the LORD? If I’m not confident in God, where am I placing my confidence? What is your answer to these questions?
I want to be confident in God. God has come through and proved Himself faithful so many times in my life, so I have reason to trust and be confident in Him, even when I don't understand what He's planning. I want to praise God, but in difficult circumstances sometimes it is really hard to look past a hard situation and say that God is still good and that I still trust Him. Right now it is a struggle for me to praise the LORD. However, I'm trying to let my attitude toward God be decided by truth, not my feelings or circumstances. I choose to praise God, even when I don’t feel like it. The LORD is my God and He is worthy of praise no matter what He allows to happen in my life.
Dear LORD, please help me to trust in You. God, I want to sing to you and honor you, even when I don’t feel like it. LORD, you shower me with unfailing love, and you never let go of Your plan for my life. You have good plans for every person, even in the insanity of our lives. Help me trust that:
“Even when I don’t see it, You’re workin’
Even when I don’t feel it, You’re workin’
You never stop, never stop workin’ You never stop!
You are Way Maker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness
My God, that is who You are!”
-Way Maker by Leeland
Sometime this week, play the song Way Maker and allow Your heart to sing those words to God. Even when we don't see it or feel it, God is working. He never stops working and He makes a Way through the storm!