Psalm 27:6
Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.
As David reflects on what it means for God to keep him safe,
notice how his perspective changes. Even when he is in God's presence, he is still surrounded by enemies, but now he seems
lifted up above them. None of his problems have gone away, but he can see them from a different angle. He is not disgraced or defeated by his enemies, but exalted over them. Even as he looks out across the surrounding army, he is shouting for joy.
But what is he shouting? The world tells us that what we
need in the face of problems is positive self-talk. "You've got this!
You're amazing! You can do it!" And it's true that changing our thinking, changes our ability to handle stressful situations. But when David stands on his rock, he isn't shouting about his own power and strength and potential. He isn't singing songs about his own heroism and success. His joy is in the Lord. His songs are hymns of praise to the one who has rescued him.
Today, some of us may be feeling completely overwhelmed, outnumbered by our difficulties. We can't see anything to be joyful about. Let's remember that God is always praiseworthy - he is with us, he loves us, he has rescued us and will keep us safe with him forever. Rejoicing in those things won't take the problems away, but it will help us to see them in their right perspective.
Others of us may be feeling more secure. Maybe life isn’t
ideal, but we're muddling through OK. Our home life is stable, our finances are OK, our children are learning, our work in getting done, our world continues to turn. When we think about those things, whose praises are we singing? Is our song one that the world recognises and could sing along to? "How great am
I! All praise to my planning, my diligence, my wisdom, my parenting, my superior coping skills!" Or are we singing a song that David would recognise and join in with? "How great is our God! All praise to his wisdom, his love, his grace, his mercy, his sustaining goodness!"
Let's choose to sing David’s song today.
