SENSING THE PRESSURE –

Even though he experienced many hardships during the time he fled from King Saul and his squad of assassins, these incidents proved to be some of the most inspirational opportunities for David to write his best heartfelt psalms. One such occasion occurred after David left Goliath’s home town of Gath and hid out in a cave near Adullam so his brothers could visit him in secret. We can only imagine how David must have felt sitting in such a dark and lonely place while trying to figure out why God was putting him through this type torment after anointing him as the next king of Israel. But he knew he could only reach the finish line if he kept going.

“O One True God, show me Your love. I need Your protection now; shelter me with Your presence until this storm passes by. That’s why I’m calling out to my One True God Most High; to the One True God who is always there when I need Him. I’m sure He will reach down from above and get me out of this situation brought on by those out to finish me off. There’s no doubt that my One True God will stand by me and prove that I am who He wants me to be. I feel like I’ve ended up in the midst of hungry lions; whose spears and arrows are like their teeth, and their tongue is like a deadly dagger. That’s why I need some help, O One True God. So from high up in the heavens give a sign for everyone to see. They tried to trick me so they could catch me, which really caused me a lot of anxiety, but they ended up only tricking themselves. So in my heart I’m determined to make it all the way, O One True God; yes, I’m determined to keep going so I can sing and worship You in songs of victory. So let’s get with it! Yes, let’s get our instruments so we can start out each morning with praise! I want to let Your praises ring so loud all can hear. For Your love reaches to the sky, and Your faithfulness beyond the clouds. O One True God, let people see the One I serve; yes, let the whole world see how fabulous You really are.” Psalm 57:1-11

Reflection: In September 1938, a man living on Long Island, NY, finally satisfied a longing ambition by purchasing a very expensive barometer to hang in his great room. When the instrument arrived on Tuesday the 20^th, he became very upset because the needle was apparently stuck on the sector marked “HURRICANE.” After shaking the barometer vigorously several times, he was unable to move the needle, so he sat down and wrote a scorching letter of criticism to the store from which the instrument came. Early the following rainy morning on Wednesday, September 21, 1938 he mailed the letter on the way to his office in New York. He fumed all day at work over waiting so long only to be disappointed. But later that evening after a lonely ride home on the train, he was even more devastated when he reached Long Island. Not only did he find his barometer was missing, but so was his house. Yes, the barometer was right after all! A hurricane did hit at 3:30 PM that afternoon just as the instrument predicted. In the same manner David kept checking the spiritual barometer God placed in his heart. Even though his fellow fighters felt he was all wrong, David trusted God’s instrument to guide his actions instead of misreading the elements of the situation he was in; or take the advice of those who didn’t know how he really felt and what he was actually going through. No wonder the New Testament tells believers to trust the barometer of the Spirit by walking in faith, not by sight. So why not trust the indicator God has placed in your heart, and let it become your guide to interpreting what kind of situation you might be facing and how God wants you to prepare for it, and how He plans to get you through.