Psalm 86:17 - September 7, 2009

Ps 86:17 “Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.” NIV

When God’s favor is on a person, a family or a work (congregation, business, etc.), His kindness to them is a declaration not only of His goodness but of His power to work in the lives of His people. David is crying out for a sign of God’s goodness not simply because of his desire for more blessing but as an act of spiritual warfare and as a social statement of God’s favor upon him. David understands that when a servant of God is blessed with God’s blessings that it is actually God who receives glory!
It is a powerful thing when our adversaries, those who do not love the Lord, see blessings outpoured from heaven in ways that no man can arrange in his own strength. When people see the miraculous works of God He receives glory even it is man who receives the divine intervention. David understands that adversaries are silenced when God’s endorsement through supernatural means makes a statement that heaven is working on behalf of this situation. When doctors declare that a person is going to die and God reverses their condition it is God not the patient who receives the praise. When someone who is on the edge of losing everything to bankruptcy suddenly is delivered through either miraculous legal decisions or unexpected financial intervention it is God who is glorified. When the natural options are bypassed and that which only God can perform shifts the outcome of something from certain and expected failure to surprising success it is God whose fame is spread through the testimony of thankful hearts!
God greatly enjoys comforting His people, not only with emotional support but with divine deliverance. All those who know the Lord have a record of the great things that God has done throughout history to turn evil to good and disaster to victory. Today, set your eyes on the Lord and His power to save, not on the mountain you face and begin to thank Him, and ask Him for a sign of His goodness to bring glory to His name through your victory. Be strengthened by the words of our gracious Lord who said in Matt 19:26 "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."