I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. - Psalm 34: 1 (NKJV)
We bless the Lord by remembering with thanksgiving all that He has already done. We bless the Lord by sharing the Good News of His salvation with those who desperately need it. We bless the Lord by praising and worshiping Him continually. These all serve as protections as well from despair and the lies of the enemy. It is easy to praise Him on the mountaintop beloved! It is in the depths of the valley however that we really need to bless Him and His holy name!
Secondly from verse seven we are reminded that it is the Lord who guides us! This may sound simple enough but if we were honest we would have to admit that during our roughest times we often start trying to figure things out on our own. We start to freelance. We take the keys to our life from His hands and start to drive ourselves. We do not have the answers beloved - only He does! Proverbs spells this principle out for us explicitly:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways a cknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. - Proverbs 3: 5-6 (NKJV)
After evaluating which way blessing is flowing in our lives the next step is to see who is driving. Are we leaning on our own understanding? There is a way that seems right to a man but it leads to destruction. Are we following the advice of the world? Are we giving in to our flesh? Are we buying the lies of the enemy? Or are we acknowledging God in all of our ways so that He may guide us down the right path? These are often tough questions but they must be answered.
Thirdly from verse seven we see that even at night David is seeking the will of the Father. Even in the darkest part of our darkness. Even at those moments when we are most vulnerable and tired. The reality is there are too many part time Christians. We serve God at church and in ministry but our lives are not about Him. We try and fit Him into our lives. That is a sure fire recipe for disaster. The devil does not work 9-5. He does not sleep and he does not stop. Our turning to God must be complete. We cannot seek Him partially. We must not limit His power in our lives if we are to expect victory!
Verse eight serves as a reminder from God as to whom it is that we have placed our faith in. Too many Christians lead powerless lives. They are saved by the blood of Christ but are crawling into heaven. We need to hide this verse in our hearts and remember that no matter what we are going through, the Lord is always with us, we will not be shaken, for He is right beside us! How did Gideon defeat an army of over 100,000 with an army of 300? Because the Lord was always with him! How did Daniel survive the lion's den? Because the Lord was always with him! How did the three Hebrew boys survive the fiery furnace? Because the Lord was always with them!
But Gideon still had to go into the battle. Daniel still had to go into the lion's den. The Hebrew boys still had to go into the furnace. We still must face the trials in life. We must however learn to face them understanding who God is and where God is! David does not think the Lord is with him. He does not speculate the Lord is with him. He KNOWS the Lord is with him. He knows He is with him always. God is not a part time God beloved. He has not forgotten you. There still may be a harrowing journey ahead but God is always at our right hand. No wonder David's heart will be glad! Remember, he wrote this Psalm while on the run from King Saul who was trying to take his life. He wrote this Psalm when his life was in turmoil and he had not done anything wrong! He wrote this Psalm even though the promise God had made him years before had not come to fruition yet. In spite of this David writes is it any wonder my heart is glad!
Psalm 16 now draws to a close with David trying to refocus himself on what truly matters. We can face the worst trials imaginable in this life and still rest in the salvation of God. We can face our own army of 100,000. We can spend the night in our own lions den. The world will stand us before our own fiery furnace and heat it up seven times hotter than we think we can possibly bear and demand we answer one question - how do you feel? We have to answer not with what we feel but rather with whom we believe:
