But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O Lord, you will bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. Psalm 5:11-12 NIV
For the past couple of weeks, since hearing a song entitled, “Life and Favor”, I have not been able to stop listening to it repeatedly. It is not just the melody but the wording that demanded my attention. This and several other songs have been ministering to me on a daily basis while traveling on this journey. The song simply says, “You don’t know my story, you don’t know the pains, the trials that I’ve been through (or come through). You cannot imagine but God has been faithful, He promised He would never leave me, and my story proves that God can use me… you don’t know my story; it would blow your mind. You don’t know my story, for if you did you would lift up your hands; so just let me tell you I think you may as well break out and dance. My story. You don’t know my story but through my testimony I have overcome and I have been set free.” I love the lyrics because it speaks to my life, my testimonial. Through His love, His mercy and His favor, I am delivered and by His grace there are no chains that are binding me. You don’t know my story, you may have a small inkling of what love and mercy, life and favor has done for me but you really don't know my story. How it’s kept me, groomed me, purged and cleansed me, molded, shaped and fashioned me. You would have had to walk in my shoes, or lived my life, or know what God has invested in me, or purposed for my life. Don’t pretend for a moment to know “my story”, because I’m telling you, it would blow your mind. This song is one that reminds me of my story, helps me to go back and remember how I made it through life’s struggles, life’s trials and circumstances; a song that keeps me in my righteous mind; a song where I gladly take refuge and sing with Jesus joy! You don't know my story.
This psalm is a prayer, one of many beautifully written by David as he once again encourages my soul with his poetic wording, penned straight from his heart. David was anointed to write the words needed to get to the heart of the matter. His prayers were powerful, as well as sincere in the midst of all of his challenges, in spite of the sufferings he encountered, although some were self-inflicted, David always knew where his help came from (Psalm 121). I love the psalms because David tells us, his story. Otherwise, how would we have the opportunity to know of him, his thoughts, his ways, or his temperament; his shortcomings, his attributes, his downfalls, or even his weaknesses and how He trusted and depended on God? There was no second guessing as to who he was and we don’t question his life or speculate how he lived it, or why he might have been going through some things, yet we do often quote that David was a man after God’s own heart. However, I do believe there are some testimonies from David that we don’t know and were not written, because some of his story might have blown our minds.
David prayed and praised continually (Psalm 34:1), regardless, of the evil that was all around him; regardless of how they treated him, no matter the distress he was in, he prayed. That is the stance that we will have to take if we intend to live a life of prayer and praise as David did. We must pray for others and not judge or condemn, hinder or hold back, yet uplift and encourage and strive to please God in every way; both in word and in deed. David prays for all of the people of God, in particular, he said, bless the righteous and give them all joy and protect them. An unselfish prayer, for the ones who love your name, surround them with your favor and keep them under the shadow of your wings, O God (Psalm 57) David prayed for others even when he didn’t know their story. He prayed for them because they loved God and because he had the heart and compassion for others.
Love and favor, God grants it, David knew it and we should give it, freely and without question. We want it for our lives but are we willing to spread it among each other unselfishly and without return, without some invested motive. These are two words that I cannot nor do I want to live without. Honestly, I need them working simultaneously in my life. God keeps me surrounded with His favor as a shield of protection over my life. It would be hard to imagine living each day not having that kind of protection or that kind of covering. Can you imagine being on the battlefield with nothing to block the enemy's darts or attacks? He blesses the righteous in spite of what we may endure for righteousness’ sake. He is definitely faithful to me in every area of my life and I still have my song of joy. No, it doesn’t always feel good, but I have that confidence, that assurance, that He will never leave me nor forsake me and with that, I can rejoice always (Phil 4:4). Everything we experience is for our good and for God’s glory. It is where we get our testimonies; it is how we get our story.
Lord, let all who take refuge in you be glad and celebrate; let us forever sing for joy; for the joy of the Lord is our strength. Spread your wings of protection over us, covering us always, so that those who love your name may rejoice in you and know that you and you alone are our help in every circumstance no matter how it looks for we walk by faith. Let us put our trust in you and not man. Surely, you will continue to bless the righteous, always surrounding us with your favor as a shield so that we can be free to rejoice and sing!
Until the morning, be blessed,
Cynde
For the past couple of weeks, since hearing a song entitled, “Life and Favor”, I have not been able to stop listening to it repeatedly. It is not just the melody but the wording that demanded my attention. This and several other songs have been ministering to me on a daily basis while traveling on this journey. The song simply says, “You don’t know my story, you don’t know the pains, the trials that I’ve been through (or come through). You cannot imagine but God has been faithful, He promised He would never leave me, and my story proves that God can use me… you don’t know my story; it would blow your mind. You don’t know my story, for if you did you would lift up your hands; so just let me tell you I think you may as well break out and dance. My story. You don’t know my story but through my testimony I have overcome and I have been set free.” I love the lyrics because it speaks to my life, my testimonial. Through His love, His mercy and His favor, I am delivered and by His grace there are no chains that are binding me. You don’t know my story, you may have a small inkling of what love and mercy, life and favor has done for me but you really don't know my story. How it’s kept me, groomed me, purged and cleansed me, molded, shaped and fashioned me. You would have had to walk in my shoes, or lived my life, or know what God has invested in me, or purposed for my life. Don’t pretend for a moment to know “my story”, because I’m telling you, it would blow your mind. This song is one that reminds me of my story, helps me to go back and remember how I made it through life’s struggles, life’s trials and circumstances; a song that keeps me in my righteous mind; a song where I gladly take refuge and sing with Jesus joy! You don't know my story.
This psalm is a prayer, one of many beautifully written by David as he once again encourages my soul with his poetic wording, penned straight from his heart. David was anointed to write the words needed to get to the heart of the matter. His prayers were powerful, as well as sincere in the midst of all of his challenges, in spite of the sufferings he encountered, although some were self-inflicted, David always knew where his help came from (Psalm 121). I love the psalms because David tells us, his story. Otherwise, how would we have the opportunity to know of him, his thoughts, his ways, or his temperament; his shortcomings, his attributes, his downfalls, or even his weaknesses and how He trusted and depended on God? There was no second guessing as to who he was and we don’t question his life or speculate how he lived it, or why he might have been going through some things, yet we do often quote that David was a man after God’s own heart. However, I do believe there are some testimonies from David that we don’t know and were not written, because some of his story might have blown our minds.
David prayed and praised continually (Psalm 34:1), regardless, of the evil that was all around him; regardless of how they treated him, no matter the distress he was in, he prayed. That is the stance that we will have to take if we intend to live a life of prayer and praise as David did. We must pray for others and not judge or condemn, hinder or hold back, yet uplift and encourage and strive to please God in every way; both in word and in deed. David prays for all of the people of God, in particular, he said, bless the righteous and give them all joy and protect them. An unselfish prayer, for the ones who love your name, surround them with your favor and keep them under the shadow of your wings, O God (Psalm 57) David prayed for others even when he didn’t know their story. He prayed for them because they loved God and because he had the heart and compassion for others.
Love and favor, God grants it, David knew it and we should give it, freely and without question. We want it for our lives but are we willing to spread it among each other unselfishly and without return, without some invested motive. These are two words that I cannot nor do I want to live without. Honestly, I need them working simultaneously in my life. God keeps me surrounded with His favor as a shield of protection over my life. It would be hard to imagine living each day not having that kind of protection or that kind of covering. Can you imagine being on the battlefield with nothing to block the enemy's darts or attacks? He blesses the righteous in spite of what we may endure for righteousness’ sake. He is definitely faithful to me in every area of my life and I still have my song of joy. No, it doesn’t always feel good, but I have that confidence, that assurance, that He will never leave me nor forsake me and with that, I can rejoice always (Phil 4:4). Everything we experience is for our good and for God’s glory. It is where we get our testimonies; it is how we get our story.
Lord, let all who take refuge in you be glad and celebrate; let us forever sing for joy; for the joy of the Lord is our strength. Spread your wings of protection over us, covering us always, so that those who love your name may rejoice in you and know that you and you alone are our help in every circumstance no matter how it looks for we walk by faith. Let us put our trust in you and not man. Surely, you will continue to bless the righteous, always surrounding us with your favor as a shield so that we can be free to rejoice and sing!
Until the morning, be blessed,
Cynde
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