As for me, I said in my prosperity, "I shall never be moved."
By your favor, O LORD, you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
To you, O LORD, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
"What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me!
O LORD, be my helper!"
When the Psalmist felt secure, he declared, "I shall never be moved." He is depending on his own security at that point, not involving God in his life. Don't we do that? As soon as things level out and we're doing ok, we forget about God and trust in our own abilities.
But then, God hid his face from the Psalmist, and he "was dismayed." Have you ever felt that God was hiding his face from you? It's an extremely frightening feeling. Don Wyrtzen describes it as "cold, raw fear."
So, David calls for mercy. "What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit?"
"At the end of himself, David abandoned his independence, his cleverness, and all his human resources, relizing that the solidarity of his kingdom dependedon God's favor, not on his own ingenuity."
"Dependency on the Lord is the key to security."
(Quotes, except for Scripture verses, from A Musician Looks at the Psalms, by Don Wyrtzen)
We must always remember that we can add nothing to God's provision for our lives. We can only detract by trying to "help."
My heart and soul are being consistently drawn back to Chile this morning, though. The devastation caused by such a strong earthquake will take a long time to recover, and the death toll is rising. Not only that, but there is a possibility that this quake has set off a tsunami which will threaten the entire Pacific Ocean area.
I pray that Christians, worldwide, will respond quickly, first in prayer, and second with action in any way that they are capable.
Grace and peace, friends.