3^rd September

“I love you, Lord; You are my Strength. The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress and my Saviour; My God is my Rock, in whom I find Protection. He is my Shield, the Power that saves me, and my Place of safety.”

Psalm 18:1-2

David spent years running away from Saul when he was driven with madness and jealously towards David. Literally David’s very life was in danger on a daily basis. So great was David’s anguish that when he talked about his struggles in the rest of this chapter, he used phrases such as ‘death laid a trap in my path’ and ‘the grave wrapped its ropes around me’. This is heartfelt imagery; imagery that conjures up a hopeless situation. Yet hope was always at hand because David had the Lord by his side.

David knew that God was his rock, fortress, Saviour, strength, protection, power, shield and a place of refuge from the enemies. Although danger was at his doorstep, he knew that God would save him. In fact this poem is written after God saved David from his enemies and from the hands of Saul as a reflection on God’s saving grace.

David shared such an intimate walk with God. Yet his intimacy came from the knowledge of who God was and is. He knew he could fully trust and rely on his God to save him. And time and time again, God did just that. When we are walking through a tunnel that seems to have no light at the end, let us remember that our God, is our strength, He is our fortress and very present help in time of need. He hears our cry, and stretches His hand to us. We can have hope in hopeless situation because He is our hope and He never fails.