Psalm 18:17-19 February 19, 2009

Psalm 18 "17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. 18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. 19 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." NIV

David is celebrating the Lord’s divine intervention. He is able to recognize that it is the Lord who has rescued him. He is not praising his own brilliance. He is not celebrating his own strength and skills. David is faithful to acknowledge that the troubles he was facing were too strong for him and that it was only God who was able to give him the victory. This foundation of humility is one of David’s key values that keep his heart in a place that brings pleasure to God. David declares “the Lord was my support!” This announcement of dependence brings to mind the passage in the Song of Solomon where the bride is coming out of the wilderness leaning on her beloved.
Each one of us has a need to come to the place of leaning upon the Lord instead of our own strength. The beloved one of Song of Solomon has been in the wilderness, much like David through his trying time, and she comes out of that season leaning on her lover. This process is one of God’s ways that we must all embrace. God, in his wisdom, allows us to go through times and seasons that are like the wilderness experience of David. In most cases we enter those seasons with a sense of self-assurance and independence. The Lord in his great love brings us to the place where we must recognize our need and learn to lean upon him and adopt a heart of dependence instead of relying on our own abilities. David learns a valuable lesson of trust that can never be taken away because it is a lesson learned from experience not theoretical analysis.
The good news is that the wilderness season does not last forever. It is for a time and for a purpose! David now has a testimony of God’s keeping power and he is able to recognize the goodness of God that was there for him at the end of the journey. David’s testimony is “He brought me out into a spacious place.” The spacious place is a picture of the abundance and freedom that he has found after the Lord’s dealings are complete. During his time of trial David’s life felt very confined and hemmed in by the pressures surrounding him. Usually when we are in the difficult seasons we feel as if all of our options have been taken away and we have no room to choose our path. David is able to see the goodness of God that has carried him through to this new season of abundance. This new season is also accompanied by one of the most valuable revelations that David has ever embraced. In his joy at over the victory and breakthrough that has finally come David declares confidently, “He rescued me because he delighted in me.” After all of this season of struggle is over David is still able to see himself as God’s delight! What a tremendous understanding it is to know that walking through the seasons of hardship does not imply that God no longer loves us. David is confident in God’s love for him even after having walked through such a dark valley in his life. “Lord give us this same revelation of the Love of God!”