Psalm 31:14-17 - March 29, 2009

Ps 31:14-17 "But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." 15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. 16 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. 17 Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I have cried out to you;" NIV

Trust enables a heart to surrender! This passage brings us face to face with the power of yielding to God. David has accepted the Lord as his God. This statement, to yield to the Lord as Our God, not just a God, makes all that follows not just principles but personal, My God, My trust, My times. When we place our trust in the Lord we can enter into rest even in the midst of the most pressing circumstances. “My times are in your hands…” Have you made Christ Lord over your times!? For most people one of the most common responses we have to every circumstance is the desire to control all that concerns us. We want to know that we can change our circumstances when and how we please. The problem with that is that if we are in control, then God is not! Our loving heavenly father is faithful to lead us in paths that demand a surrender of that control. He is faithful to lead us to a place of yielding and admission of need.
David lived frequently under intense pressure; oppressed by a mad king, pressured by disgruntled followers, attacked by foreign enemies, and betrayed by close friends and even family. If anyone had an excuse for seeking to try to control his situation it was David and yet time and again he resisted the temptation to take matters into his own hands. He resisted the pressure to take the path of convenience and shortcuts, choosing rather to demonstrate a commitment to the principles of the Word and a heart of surrender to the will and timing of the Father! Instead of grasping at things impatiently and fearfully this righteous man denied his own ambitions and rejected inappropriate comforts and flung himself wholeheartedly into the hands of the Lord. When offered the chance to kill King Saul and acquire the kingdom of Israel prematurely he chose to honor the Word of the Lord. When presented with opportunities for revenge he chose to let the Father vindicate him. When he was betrayed by his own son and the kingdom was temporarily stolen from him he walked away declaring that if it was God’s will for him to be restored to his place that God would be faithful to perform it. David chose the path of prayer instead of the path of striving.
What an awesome example this psalm and the circumstances that it references has become for us as we seek to follow the way of the Lord. David doesn’t strive, David prays. David doesn’t manipulate, he surrenders. David doesn’t worry he remembers the character and goodness of the Lord and is strengthened in his prayers even more. “My times are in your hands.” Every believer must learn this lesson of surrender. There is however a significant difference between surrender to the Lord and acceptance of defeat. The powerful message in this passage is that David is not yielding to the circumstances; he is yielding to the Lord in the midst of his circumstances. Even as he is surrendering the times and seasons of his life, the blessings and the trials, into the hands of the Lord, we see David also pressing into prayer as he cries out for the Lord’s deliverance. Oh, that the body of Christ could learn this lesson. Surrender to God and look to his hand. Do not fear but press into his mercy until you have the victory in His time!