Oswald Chambers, author of the popular devotional My Utmost For His Highest, wrote, “Get to the end of yourself where you can do nothing, but where He does everything.” That sounds good, but who wants to reach the limit of their capacity? I know I don’t.
I don’t like to feel powerless. As a child, I made an unconscious vow and created strategies to ensure I would never feel powerless again. As an adult, those strategies turned into hyper-vigilance and hyper-responsibility—which are often highly regarded, even rewarded in our society. But in my case, they weren’t badges of honor; they were the shackles of fear and a fierce commitment to self-reliance.
God created us with tremendous abilities—skills and talents that enable us to evaluate, problem-solve, and create. And yet, when these abilities become what we lean on and trust in hard times, they can lead us away from rather than toward God. But in God’s severe mercy, he gives us gifts wrapped in odd packages—gifts like failure and struggle—to bring us to the end of ourselves. Because in coming to the end of ourselves, we may finally surrender to our powerlessness and look to him as the true source of our power.
Perhaps that is where we find David in Psalm 28. It seems he is in distress, and while the source of his distress is unclear, he leaves no doubt regarding whom he trusts. This psalm is the cry of one who knows where to turn.
Vs. 1: “To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.”
When I read this verse, I imagine the emphasis on YOU: “To YOU, O Lord, I call.”
David’s dependence on the Lord reminds me of an interaction between Peter and Jesus in John’s Gospel. After a difficult discourse where Jesus stated that no one could have life unless they ate his flesh and drank his blood, many of Jesus’ disciples stopped following him. They could not accept such a hard teaching. Consequently, Jesus asked Peter if he also wanted to go away. But Peter said, “Lord, to whom else would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the holy one of God” (John 6:60-70).
Despite Jesus’ difficult teaching, Peter knew that Jesus alone offered the hope of life. Like Peter, David knows life is found in Yahweh alone; there is nowhere better to turn in times of distress. So he cries out to the Lord—his rock, place of support and defense, and the solid foundation he stands on—and says, “Be not deaf to me, lest if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.”
God’s silence may be one of the most challenging aspects of our faith. We can endure trials and suffering when we sense God’s power, peace, and presence. But when God is silent in times of duress, it is almost unbearable, like being in a pit where there is no light, no hope of rescue, and only darkness surrounds you. So David pleads with the Lord to hear and respond to his cries:
Vs. 2: “Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.”
In humble desperation, David lifts his hands toward the Lord and asks him to hear and be merciful. The lifting of hands can be symbolic of worship but also surrender. Prayer can take many forms: sitting silently, using scripted prayers, praying the psalms, or even journaling prayers. While the heart’s posture is the most important thing, we may underestimate the role the body’s posture can play in prayer. Kneeling or lying face down in prayer can remind us of our weakness and need before God. Similarly, extending our hands toward heaven can embody our desire to surrender something to God or our willingness to receive something from God. Here, David lifts his hands in surrender and pleads with the Lord to act on his behalf.
He continues,
Vs. 3-5: “Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts. Give to them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward. Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them up no more.”
David prays that God would execute his judgment against those whose sin is deliberate and willful, workers of evil who care nothing for the Lord or his ways. They speak peace—outwardly wishing goodness to their neighbors while inwardly harboring evil intent against them. But though David longs for God’s justice, he pleads with God to spare him when judgment comes.
David then turns from petition to praise,
Vs. 6-7: “Blessed be the LORD! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The LORD is my strength and shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”
While David spent the first five verses pleading with the Lord, that doesn’t mean David is struggling with unbelief. Lament, longing, and struggle are not indicative of weak faith! Petition and praise are not opposites; they are two sides of the same coin—faith. David’s faith is apparent in the fact that he knows where to turn in his times of trouble. Because David is convinced of God’s goodness, he knows and believes that the Lord will help him in his time of need. And this belief leads him to praise the Lord BEFORE he has rescued him, not after.
Then David concludes with both praise and petition,
Vs. 8-9: “The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever!”
Over and over again in the Psalms, David declares that Yahweh is Israel’s strength, shield, strong tower, refuge, and salvation. David has not only been taught about God’s mighty deliverance of Israel in the past, but he has also seen firsthand God’s power in his own life. And this gives him confidence before the Lord.
Ultimately, David’s confident appeal is rooted in Israel’s identity. They are Yahweh’s special possession—his treasured people whom he has chosen as his own. So David prays for the Lord to act on behalf of his children — those claimed and named by Yahweh himself—to care and watch over them as a shepherd with his sheep.
We, too, have been claimed and named by the Lord! And because we are his special possession, his inheritance, he will also keep us—tending to our needs and watching over us always. So, though trouble will come, we can petition the Lord for help and praise him because we know with utter confidence that he will tend and care for his sheep. He is our Good Shepherd! To whom else would we go?
Love you guys,
CC
If you’d like to explore this further, schedule some time to work through the following exercises.
Engage Scripture:
Read Psalm 28 in a couple of different translations. Then answer the following questions:
Faith isn’t just blind hope. It is often evidence-based. What evidence did David have that God could be trusted to care for him and Israel?
David asks God to “Be their shepherd and carry them forever.” What role does a shepherd play for the sheep? Write down everything a shepherd might do in caring for his sheep.
Explore Your Story:
What evidence do you have of God’s past faithfulness? How might remembering this bring you hope and peace in hard times?
What aspect of this psalm stood out to you? Why? Take a few moments to pray or journal and ask God if there is something
Encounter Jesus
Read Ephesians 1:3-14. Then do the following:
Make two columns on a sheet of paper.
In the first column, write down all the identity statements in this passage (e.g., blessed, chosen, holy).
In the second column, write down what you think or say about yourself.
How does your identity in Christ compare to how you view yourself?
How might believing who you are in Christ change how you perceive your circumstances?
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