TALKING BIG WITH DAVID
Psalms 60:11-12 NKJV
11 Give us help from trouble,
For the help of man is useless.
12 Through God we will do valiantly,
For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.
This psalm of David starts like a complaint but ends with David expressing one of his main belief tenets. And this pattern is not unusual for David.
Many people comment on how David, in the Psalms, often expresses his concerns or problems to the Lord. But it's important to note that David usually winds up in a good place, expressing his confidence in God and his belief that God will help him. That's a point people don't often make. They talk about David's heart expressions of pain or sorrow but don't connect that David's predominant expression is an overarching trust in God.
Today's psalm is the classic. God, You have cast us off and broken us down. That's pretty negative. David asks the Lord, how are we going to win, Lord, if You don't go out with our armies? Ah, but verses 11-12 are the way to wind things up. "Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless." I think this was a core belief of David. God is our help, and the help of man is useless. David has much more confidence in God than he does man. When David won great battles, he attributed the victory to the Lord. David was generous with the spoils of war because he believed that it was God who enabled him to win.
And in verse twelve, David repeats the theme of God being the source of his victory. "Through God we will do valiantly for it is He who shall tread down our enemies." David has talked this way since he first bursts onto the scene with the fight with Goliath. He told Saul that the Lord had helped him kill a lion and a bear and the Lord would help with the giant. David told Goliath, "This day, the Lord will deliver you into my hand." David told the giant that "all the earth would know there was a God in Israel." I may not ever do the amazing exploits that David did, but I can sure learn to talk as David talked. And David talked confidence in God and God's ability to help.
APPLICATION
It's not how we start but how we finish. We all have moments where we may feel as if the Lord has forgotten us. Those feelings may be normal and real, but that's not where we want to stay. We want to talk our confidence in God and in God's help before we see God's help in our life. So instead of 'it's been a bad time, and I don't know why.' We move to 'it's been a bad time, and I don't know why. But I believe God will help me, and we are coming out of this season.' The Lord is my confidence and help, and with Him on my side, we will prevail. It may seem strange to talk this way. But you'll be surprised at how it will lift your spirits. And hey, you are following the example of a man after God's own heart.
PRAYER
Lord, I trust in You and proclaim You to be my help and strength. With Your help, I know I am on the winning side.