In days of sorrow after the loss of a loved one, there is little to rejoice about in our human spirit. But in the spiritual realm there is reason to rejoice in knowing our Heavenly Father is with us. When we love Him, He is our strength (vs. 1) to get through tough days. Verse two tells us He is our rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, "horn of our salvation," and our stronghold. David gives us the example in verse three of how to have such comfort. It is through prayer. We must not just ask Him for help through tough days but we must stay in His presence and allow Him to give us such help. We cannot allow the enemy any foothold to take us away from Him. Sin separates us from God. The enemy knows that and will do anything in his power to pull us into sin. Verses twenty through twenty-eight of Psalm 18 shows how God is gracious to those who love Him. Matthew Henry writes, "Let those that walk in darkness, and labour under discouragements, take courage; God himself will be a Light to them." Verse thirty-two begins speaking of the gifts God gives those who fight the battles in life with Him as their strength. The rest of the chapter is great encouragement to keep fighting with Him as our Greatest Weapon. He is all we need. His love will be the soothing balm needed in times of great sorrow in the death of a loved one. It is what will enable us to get through times of attack by the enemy. I love the words of verses thirty-seven through thirty-nine...
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
39 You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
We must remember nothing is greater than our Heavenly Father. He is greater than anything that comes our way. Nothing surprises Him. As we live in His presence, nothing will really surprise us. Nothing will take us off guard because He prepares us for what is ahead. We may not realize it at the time but eventually it will come to light. The ending of Psalm 18 has words of great encouragement in that He is our victory! We can receive that victory by following the words of Matthew Henry:
"We should love the Lord, our Strength, and our Salvation; we should call on him in every trouble, and praise him for every deliverance; we should aim to walk with him in all righteousness and true holiness, keeping from sin. If we belong to him, he conquers and reigns for us, and we shall conquer and reign through him, and partake of the mercy of our anointed King, which is promised to all his seed for evermore."
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for the words David wrote in Psalm 18. Thank You for once again having me pray for the Barnett Family and Julia's friends. Thank You for Your love that comforts in such times of sorrow. Father, I pray for Your strength to be their strength today and in the days ahead. I pray for Your love to be greater than the hurts of their hearts. Lord, I also pray for ones who do not know Your love to find it during these dark days. I pray for those who have strayed from it to return to You. Lord, I also pray for You to be greater then Paula's pain today. I pray for You to be greater than all of the 'junk' Nada is going through with her diagnosis. Lord, I also pray for a cleansing in my spirit today so You can fill me to overflowing with more of You. I pray for You to ooze out of me in a way there will be no doubt You live in me. Lord, be greater...be greater. Thank You Jesus for being My Greatest Weapon! Amen.
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