Like David, we all face adversaries who challenge us and the older we get the more there seem to be. Every morning when we wake up the choice stands at the foot of our bed; fear or faith? We can understand David’s opening thought is this psalm:
Ps 3:1-2 Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. 2 Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.
God had forgiven David for his sin with Bathsheba but that did not mean that all the consequences of his actions were going to disappear. Here we find him facing an enemy that was near and dear to his heart. His son, Absalom, was leading a growing revolt against him … and they were many (2 Sam 15:6, 15).
Every one of us has been there, standing in fear of the consequences of our actions. And at that moment we need to cry out to God … and utter Selah. This is the first time the word is used in Scripture and it seems to have several meanings, including “lift up” or “be silent.” That is what David meant; God was the only one who could lift him up in midst of his circumstance. He could only cry out and stand in silence and wait for God’s deliverance.
David felt totally alone in the face of the very one He loved that had turned against him. Sadly, that’s a story that is all too frequently repeated today. Jesus warned us that this is what we could expect… In this world you will have tribulation (John 16:33). And like David, when it happens to us, we have two choices; run from God or run to Him.
As the bride of Christ, we have been planted in the midst of an unbelieving world. The atheist says that God doesn’t exist, or if He does, He doesn’t care about us. Or, for those who acknowledge He exists, they say He is either angry at us or can’t help us because He’s too weak. It’s just that kind of skepticism from those around us that battles with our faith. But David reminds us that when fear stands at the foot of the bed to greet us first thing in the morning, we have God’s protection.
Ps 3:3-4 But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. 4 I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.
I love what Martin Luther wrote in A Mighty Fortress Is Our God:
And tho’ this world with devils filled
Doth threaten to undo us;
We will not fear for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us.
As His bride we have been given a commission to reach out to the lost around us, see that they are baptized in Christ and teach them to become disciples. That’s why the enemy constantly battles against us. If he can keep us in fear of those who oppose us then he can keep the blessing for reaching those the Holy Spirit sets in our path. But we have a bridegroom who has been where we are, walked in our shoes and knows our every weakness. The good news is that He doesn’t leave us there when the battle begins. He hears our cry, answers our prayers, and defeats our enemies … Selah!