Psalm 138 (Part IV)

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me. Psalm 138:7

Definition of Revive (according to Strong’s dictionary): to have life, remain alive, to sustain life, to live (prosperously), be quickened from sickness, from discouragement, from faintness, and from death.

David had been in danger from many fronts in his life.  Psalm 138 is a tale of man who had lived through various difficulties and knew that God was his deliverer. Sometimes he had enemies like Saul and Absalom chasing him, and, at other times, it was his own emotions that would drag him to a place of despondency. In either case, he needed the Lord to save him and revive him.

The above scripture is a reminder of Psalm 23.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

Although David’s life was in danger frequently, God was with him. The Lord sustained him and gave him courage in the valley of shadow of death. If you have ever watched your shadow, you’ve noticed that depending on the angle of the sun, your shadow can look a lot taller than you. Shadows are not the real thing, but they can portray themselves to be real and intimidating. Instead of letting the shadows of life to loom over us, our Emmanuel wants to be with us and give us the courage to not be afraid of those shadows. 

If David had focused on his enemies, he would have been overwhelmed with his problems. Instead he looked to the Lord for his daily protection and for His hand to deliver him from every plot of the enemy. Our shepherd stays near His sheep. He comforts, leads, and guides us in the direction we need to go. What do you need from Him today?

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands. Psalm 138:8

David was confident that God would take care of everything that concerned him. In the younger years, one of David’s concerns was knowing how to respect Saul yet avoiding to get killed by him! He knew that it would have been impossible to live in such a conflict in his own strength and that he had to rely on God’s mercy to bring it to pass.

What are your difficult and impossible situations? Do you believe that God is at work in your circumstances even when you are not supervising the project!? Do you trust him that someday the answer will become clear? The Bible is full of Biblical characters that despite the difficulties and impossibilities, God perfected that which concerned them.

How does God perfect that which concerns us? We may not know how God will perfect or accomplish what concerns us, but we know that He is the author and the perfecter of our faith (Hebrew 12:2). The above scripture (Psalm 138:8) makes me think of how little children get upset over a toy or not getting their way. However, when the child is only a year or five years older, the toy or the issue doesn’t matter to them anymore. Similarly, as we continue to grow in Him, someday some of which concerned us won’t even look as important as it does right now. In the process, we have been perfected and the Lord has taken care of concerns differently than what we originally imagined!