Psalm 37:5-6 - April 21, 2009

Ps. 37:5 -6 "Commit your way to LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun." NIV

Do you have a plan B? I am not anti-planning and preparation but there are times when we yield to the temptation to plan for the failure of faith rather than walking in confident assurance of the victory that God has for us. There are times when the alternative plan that we have generated is really rooted in a fear that trusting the Lord won’t work out. We have God and then our plan if God doesn’t meet our expectations. This situation can grow out of unbelief in His promises at times, or simply the power of our negative fears. It can spring out of past failures and at other times it can grow out of not having spent the time to hear God’s voice so that we have assurance of what His promises are. In Acts 27 as the ship that Paul is being transported in is being battered by a great storm some of the soldiers attempt to escape from the ship by using a life boat but the Word of the Lord comes to Paul saying that they must not do this for everyone to be saved. They have to cut away the lifeboat and place their trust in the Word of the Lord.
There are times in our walk with God that He calls us to cut away the life boat of our alternative plans and commit our way fully into his hands. This is the kind of trust that David walked in. On two occasions David had the opportunity to kill Saul and fulfill his calling to be king by the power of his own hand. David lives up to the standard of his own teachings as he chooses to honor the Word of the Lord above his desire to relieve his own suffering. David refuses to touch Saul and by doing so prolongs his own trial. This choice was costly but worth it. This is one of the highest principles of God’s way; Costly but worth it! This was the path that Abraham chose when he left his familiar surroundings to go to a new land. This is the choice that Rebekah made in Ge. 24 when she left her family behind to travel to a distant land and marry a total stranger. And who could forget the stand that Daniel and his three friends took when confronted with the choice of compromise or persecution. Finally it is said of Jesus in the book of Hebrews that “for the joy set before Him,” He endured the cross. Jesus had an unquenchable confidence in His father’s promises to Him. So much so that He trusted His life to them.
David’s confidence is that The Lord is faithful. Out of this confidence he declares to us that if we will trust, in due time we will not only receive the needed breakthrough but our righteousness will shine like the dawn. David’s deliverance was more glorious than his persecution was. David’s integrity spoke louder than Saul’s corruptness. In the same way Christ was shamed publicly, but He was raised gloriously! This is the hope of those who place their trust in the Lord.