Victory Comes From Surrendering My Life to Him
Scripture Passage: Psalms 144:1-15 (NASB)
1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
Who trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle;
2 My faithfulness and my fortress,
My stronghold and my savior,
My shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who subdues my people under me.
3 Lord, what is man, that You look after him?
Or a son of man, that You think of him?
4 Man is like the breath;
His days are like a passing shadow.
5 Bend down Your heavens, Lord, and come down;
Touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
6 Flash forth lightning and scatter them;
Send out Your arrows and confuse them.
7 Reach out with Your hand from on high;
Rescue me and save me from great waters,
From the hand of foreigners
8 Whose mouths speak deceit,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 God, I will sing a new song to You;
On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 Who gives salvation to kings,
Who rescues His servant David from the evil sword.
11 Rescue me and save me from the hand of foreigners,
Whose mouth speaks deceit
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 When our sons in their youth are like growing plants,
And our daughters like corner pillars fashioned for a palace,
13 Our granaries are full, providing every kind of produce,
And our flocks deliver thousands and ten thousands in our fields;
14 May our cattle be bred
Without mishap and without loss,
May there be no outcry in our streets!
15 Blessed are the people who are so situated;
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
SUMMARY
David praises God and acknowledges that God is “my rock, my faithfulness, my fortress, my stronghold, my savior, and my shield”. In his prayer, he gives thanks to God who trains him for battles, and who has protected His people in numerous encounters with enemies. Life of man is like a fleeting shadow, however, he trusts that God can come to rescue through smoke, lightning, and arrows to scatter and confuse their adversaries. The psalmist prays for help from God, providence from God, and blessings for the people whose God is the Lord.
REFLECTION
King David remembered and gave praise that God is His rock who trained his hands for war and his fingers for battle in the past. He gave glory to God for all the victories he can win at the present time. He blessed God for all the providence his kingdom would have in the future. The verse God highlighted for me is verse 15, “Blessed are the people who are so situated; Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!” In those times King David gave thanks to God that all conquests were not by his own hands. In those times King David sought help from God when he was surrounded by enemies. In those times, he sang a new song to God to worship God’s lovingkindness. In those times King David meekly confessed that God is his fortress, stronghold, savior, and shield. God became Lord of King David’s life, Lord of his family, Lord of his people, Lord of his kingdom. What a beautiful relationship that Psalmist demonstrates in these passages. I was challenged today by one of my sister’s sharing during our quiet time meeting. My life is not my own. My children are not my own. My accomplishment is not my own. All belong to our God. This complete surrender is not easy. Through today’s quiet time passage, I see how King David was able to surrender all to God. He remembers the days of old; he meditates on all God’s accomplishments; he reflects on the works of God’s hands. He pleads with God to rescue him and he gives thanks to God when God grants him victory.
APPLICATION
I want to give thanks to God for all the training He provides me and my family through these past five and half years at Holywave. As today we celebrate Holywave’s 15 year anniversary, I remembered my first time walking into Sarang church as a new believer in 2010 and once again God moved me back to the area in 2016 to plug into the Holywave community. Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains me, through hundreds of sermons from our pastors, through quiet time ministry, through intercessory prayer ministry, through Oikos family, through discipleship training, through Arise, and through community outreach. I was also blessed by my children through what educational department pastors, teachers, and volunteers sewed into their life. Psalms 144 makes me wonder: “Lord, who am I, that You look after me? I am like the breath; my days are like a passing shadow.” But my faithfulness, my fortress, my stronghold, my savior, my shield, and my refuge, He cares for me. He gives salvation to me. He trains me for many battles I fought and many more battles that are about to come. All I have to do is to surrender my life, my children, my family to Him, MY LORD!
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, help me once again fully dedicate my life to you. Let me confess that You are my Lord. Help me eliminate all unnecessary things I put before You. May my toil in this world not be meaningless. Train me to live a life worthy of calling to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Teach me the way in which I should walk. Teach me to do Your Will. For You are My God. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
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