THE POWER OF PROCLAMATION

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!

He is the God who avenges me, who puts the nations under me, who sets me free from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men, You rescued me.

Therefore I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.

He gives His king great victories; He shows unfailing kindness to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

2 Samuel 22:47-51

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Chapter 22 of 2 Samuel has offered us a great study of David’s sense of gratitude and appreciation for all that God had done in his life and my hope is that it has helped us better focus as well on the multitude of blessings that He has given us as well.

So what should we do when we fully realize the abundance of God’s goodness?

Well, as we see in the last verses of David’s song of praise, we should proclaim our feelings about the Lord…testifying about His abundant kindness to everyone we encounter. For God doesn’t bless us with the intent that we keep what He’s done to ourselves. Rather, He wants us to share good news with others.

As an example, let’s look at David’s proclamations about the Lord’s presence and benevolence in our passage for today:

1. “The Lord lives!”

David didn’t serve a dead Lord and he wanted everyone to know it.

God was active and vibrant in his life, always advising him…protecting him…saving him…and correcting him when he needed it. Indeed, the Lord was very much alive in David’s life…just as He is in ours today and we, like David, should be telling others about it…about how we serve and encounter a living God each and every day.

2. “Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!”

This very alive God that David served wasn’t to be discounted or slighted. No, this God who was the Maker and Master of all created things…the Rock of Ages…the Developer and Institutor of the salvation plan…this God deserved nothing short of being lifted up high to where He should be…above and over all things as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

And so David didn’t hesitate to place God where He belonged, exalting Him in his song…and we’re to testify to the Lord’s esteem as well in our own lives.

3. “He is the God who avenges me, who puts the nations under me, who sets me free from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men, You rescued me.”

Something amazing happens when we acknowledge the living God and exalt His holy name. For in turn, He lifts us up…up out of the miry pit of sin to show us the way to righteousness…up and away from danger and peril so we can carry out His will in safety.

David saw God as his great Avenger and Deliverer who watched over him and set him free from his enemies. We need to see Him the same way because nothing has changed with our Lord who remains the same today as He was in the time of David, still actively exalting us over harm and adversity.

4. Praise be to my Rock!…Therefore I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name. He gives His king great victories; He shows unfailing kindness to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

In summing up the first three declarations, we learn these things about our Lord…

…that He is alive and active among His people.

…that He deserves to be lifted up before mankind through testimony about His awesome presence and saving power.

…that He avenges and delivers His people from harm.

Given all this, how could we not find ourselves praising Him as David did? How could keep from telling everyone about His unfailing protection, goodness, and love?

For the truth of the matter is that we truly serve an awesome God…a God of compassion, mercy, and grace…a God who was mindful enough of those He created that He felt moved to save them from Hell and offer them Heaven instead through His Son Jesus.

Friends, this Lord is worthy of all our praise and we need to make Him known to all for there’s incredible power in proclamation…especially when we give honor and glory to the One who has given us life, now and forevermore…the One through which all things are possible.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE GIFT OF HIS COVERING

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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You give me Your shield of victory; You stoop down to make me great.

You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not turn.

I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

I crushed them completely and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.

You armed me with strength for battle; You made my adversaries bow at my feet.

You made my enemies turn their backs in flight and I destroyed my foes. They cried for help but there was no one to save them — to the Lord, but He did not answer. I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth; I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.

You have delivered me from the attacks of my people; You have preserved me as the head of nations. People I did not know are subject to me and foreigners come cringing to me; as soon as they hear me, they obey me. They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.

2 Samuel 22:36-46

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

“An Air Force Tech Sgt. died after falling to the field during a fast-rope rappelling demonstration prior to a college football game.”

“A 4-year-old boy in Arizona died after being accidentally struck by his family's SUV in the driveway.”

“At least 10 children were killed and more than two dozen others injured when a private school roof collapsed in northwestern Pakistan.”

“Seven children, an adult, and a dog have all been displaced following a fire on Saturday morning.”

These recent headlines underscore the kind of perils that exist all around us. Indeed, we never can know when and how tragedy might strike and this truth could leave anyone paranoid, anxious, or afraid if it wasn’t for one important fact…

For the Lord God Almighty places the gift of His covering over those who trust and obey Him.

As we see in today’s passage, King David surely knew this first-hand in his life and rather than keeping it a secret, we find him testifying about it in the following verses from 2 Samuel, chapter 22:

You give me Your shield of victory; You stoop down to make me great.

You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not turn.

I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

I crushed them completely and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.

You armed me with strength for battle; You made my adversaries bow at my feet.

You made my enemies turn their backs in flight and I destroyed my foes. They cried for help but there was no one to save them — to the Lord, but He did not answer. I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth; I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.

You have delivered me from the attacks of my people; You have preserved me as the head of nations. People I did not know are subject to me and foreigners come cringing to me; as soon as they hear me, they obey me. They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds. Vv.36-46

Within this passage, note that as David reflected on every hazard he had survived, he gave credit where credit was due…to the Lord.

For it was God that provided David with his shield of victory, offering protection from attack while leading him to greatness.

The Lord also ensured David traveled safely on a broadened path…symbolizing the safe path we all can travel when we are walk alongside Him. While on that path, David found he was on solid ground as he crushed and destroyed his enemies. We too will stand firm, no matter our adversity, when we trust God ourselves.

It was God who also armed David with strength for battle. David’s confession of this showed his humility and an understanding that it wasn’t by his own hands that he was victorious. His successful conquests were made possible by his Lord.

Finally, it was the Lord who delivered David in times of conflict so to preserve his position as the anointed ruler and king of all Israel.

So given all this…some questions:

What are you up against in life today?

Are you facing any kind of troubles?

Do you have enemies who wish to harm physically, mentally, or verbally?

If none of these apply now, perhaps you can remember a time when they did for life can ebb and flow for us, moving us from good to bad times seemingly at will. The bad times can sometimes put us in the crosshairs of peril, just as they did David but thankfully we have an all powerful and loving Lord we can turn to…a Lord who is our great Protector and Defender from harm. By placing our full faith and trust in Him to deliver us from adversity and adversaries, we can dispel worry, fear, stress, and anxiety because He is with us and for us. As the Apostle Paul asks, “Who then can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

Friends, today and every day after, let us always give thanks to the Lord for the gift of His covering.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

A LIFE BLESSED BY GOD

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord is flawless.

He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him.

For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

2 Samuel 22:31-35

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As I have reflected and meditated on this song of praise to God from David, I’ve been reminded over and over of just how blessed I am. For over time, when I take account of what God has done, it’s easy to see how very good He’s been to me.

Maybe you’ve also been doing this yourself and if you haven’t, I would encourage you to do so because when we count our blessings and stay focused on all the good the Lord has done in our lives, we will consistently experience a healthy spirit of praise and thanksgiving…the kind of spirit that God wants us to have.

We’ve definitely seen David adopt this kind of spirit while breaking down his song of praise in 2 Samuel, chapter 22 of 2nd Samuel. Here’s what he has to say in today’s passage as he details the blessings he experienced through living for the Lord:

As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord is flawless.

He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him.

For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Vv.31-35

So what does a life lived out for God look like?

First of all, when we are all in for the Lord, we find ourselves living able to live in perfect ways - despite our imperfections - because He is perfect. When we allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, then we will always be living in ways where God’s will is carried out and this results in a life that’s grounded in righteousness and truth.

Secondly, when we are living for the Lord, we find ourselves living by His word and sharing that Word with others. Indeed, the scriptures are intended to transform us to be the people God wants us to be but we’re also to use it to instruct, inspire, encourage, and even convict others. Given that the Word of the Lord is flawless, we can rest assured that it will always hit home in just the right way within anyone who reads or hears it. It is perfectly true and so believers can always trust in it to lead them the right way.

There are few absolutes in life but the perfect, powerful nature of the Lord’s Word easily qualifies as one of them.

Third, we’re blessed by the Lord’s protection when we live for Him.

David found himself consistently guarded and shielded from his enemies as he took refuge in God and we will gain the same when we fully recognize Him as the God of wonders who can do all things through the mighty works of His hands in accordance with His will for us.

He has been, is, and will always be our sure Refuge, a very present help in any times of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

Fourth, God is God…the one and only Lord who is the Master and Maker of all. He has no rival and so we don’t need to wonder who we need to turn to.

The polytheistic religions of the world need to know which god they need to turn to depending on the circumstance, all of which are false. Thankfully, we don’t have that problem in Christianity for there is only one God who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords…a good God who continuously rains down good gifts on those who place their faith and trust in Him (James 1:17).

Fifth, God blesses us with a solid platform which we can build our lives on. He is the solid Rock who becomes our firm foundation…the One through which we can feel safe and sure…no matter what circumstances come our way.

And finally, God blesses us with strength to make it through every day He grants.

When we realize this then we understand that nothing we do is by our own strength but rather by way of the power the Lord has granted to us. It was this power that enabled David to possess “feet like the feet of a deer” and the ability to “stand on the heights”…to have hands prepared for battle and arms strong enough to “bend a bow of bronze”. Indeed, David had been given all the might needed to make it through his many challenges…and the good news is that God offers us the same strength and power. All we need to do is seek His help and receive it, believing and trusting in Him so to receive the bounty of His blessings.

Yes friends, we are all so very blessed in this life by a God who provides those good and perfect gifts from above. My prayer is that we’ll remain focused on this truth while letting others always see in us the hope that lives within us (1 Peter 3:15)…hope not just for today but forever more.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE LIGHT AND POWER OF THE LORD

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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You are my Lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.

With Your help, I can advance against a troop (or run through a barricade); with my God, I can scale a wall.

2 Samuel 22:29-30

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever had a time in life when you felt you were walking in darkness?

Maybe you have suffered loss in some fashion, whether losing a loved one to death or experiencing a broken relationship.

Maybe you or someone you know has been diagnosed with a severe health affliction or was seriously injured in an accident or are in the throes of some form of addiction.

Maybe you’ve experienced the difficulty associated with financial hardship, not knowing where the money was going to come for you to pay the bills or put food on your table.

There’s little doubt that we can go through a myriad of tough circumstances as we live this thing called life and having gone through a few myself, I can honestly say that there are fewer worse places to be. For when we find ourselves in the darkness of physical and/or emotional hardship, we can see our hope turn into despair as we lose sight of the Lord and the path He is laying down for us…a path that leads us out of the darkness and into His light. It’s in that dark place that we face danger as we find ourselves vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks.

As we have studied the life of David, we have seen him walk through some valleys, mostly of his own making. You’ll remember how he allowed lust to get the best of him, surrendering to it when he laid eyes on another man’s wife, Bathsheba, and then committing adultery with her. From that point on in the matter, we saw where the enemy doubled down on leading David into sin as Bathsheba became pregnant, leading to Israel’s king scheming against her husband Uriah with the intent of pinning the pregnancy on him. Eventually, we know this ended up with Uriah dying, his killing facilitated by David himself after ordering Joab to place Uriah on the front line where he would be best exposed to the enemy during battle. This ultimate iniquity didn’t happen without consequence for you’ll remember that the baby born to David and Bathsheba died, a punishment imposed on the couple by the Lord.  

Yes, David knew what it was like to have walked in darkness but he also knew what it was like to rediscover the Lord’s favor and return to His Light.

For well after David’s sinful behavior, the Lord delivered him from his enemies, taking the king from his time of sin and the subsequent judgment and bringing him into better times as he was delivered from all his enemies. Indeed, as he faced those who wished to do him harm, David experienced God lighting the way ahead, avoiding peril while maintaining his position of king over Israel and Judah.

And so we find David speaking from first-hand experience when he wrote this within his song of praise to God:

“You are my Lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.”

Yes, David saw the Lord, his Lamp, turn the darkness in his life to light but he also gained something else…the special power to escape danger.

“With Your help I can advance against a troop (or run through a barricade); with my God, I can scale a wall.”

As we look back on David’s story, we see where God gave him the help and strength to do whatever it took to avoid his adversaries, including advancing against enemy troops, running through barricades, or scaling walls. No matter what obstacle he faced, God empowered David to overcome it.

Friends, we need to know and trust today that the same Lord that served as a Lamp for David…the same Lord who strengthened him in times of trouble also stands ready to do the same for us in the midst of our life circumstances. All we need do is trust Him and submit to His will, allowing Him to guide and bring us through. For when we place our full trust in Him and surrender to everything He wants, then and only then can we be sure that He will give us what we need for His will to be accomplished (1 John 5:14-15.)…while showing us that we can do all things through the strength He gives (Philippians 4:13).

Yes, tough times happen in life. If you’re not there today, rest assured one will be coming and when it does, what a comfort to know that we, like David, can turn to a Lord who is the Lamp that overcomes the darkness, the Lamp who surrounds us with His glorious light. And as we move toward His light, we also get to draw from His power, made stronger by Him to persevere through our challenges as He leads us through them to a place where we will praise Him for His goodness and strength that restored us to better days.

Today and every day, let us give thanks to our God for all He has been, all He is, and all He is yet to be, especially as He brings us salvation through belief in His Son Jesus.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

WHAT THE LORD FAVORS

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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To the faithful, You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless, You show Yourself blameless, to the pure, You show Yourself pure but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd. You save the humble but Your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.

2 Samuel 22:26-28

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

There is one certain truth we need to always keep in mind as we live this thing called life every day.

God holds everyone accountable for their actions.

If you don’t believe it, the scriptures affirm it in the 34th chapter of the Book of Job:

He repays everyone for what they have done; He brings on them what their conduct deserves. v.11

Live a life of sin and the Lord will repay you for it, bringing the needed punishment to correct what you’ve done.

Live a life grounded in right and righteous living and He will bless you because this is “what (your) conduct deserves”

Adding to this, you’ll remember in yesterday’s message how we learned that the Lord deals with us in accordance with our righteousness and according to our cleanness in His sight (2 Samuel 22:21, 25).

This brings us to today’s passage as we learn three things we can do to ensure we are always on God’s good side…behaviors that He favors. They include:

1. Faithfulness.

“To the faithful, You show Yourself faithful…”

God wants us to show faith in Him and be faithful towards Him, not giving more affection and devotion to anyone else more than Him.

And why wouldn’t we?

After all, don’t the scriptures assure us that He can do all things (Matthew 19:26)…that nothing is impossible with Him (Luke 1:37)?

In regard to His loyalty towards us, we read in the Book of Lamentations that His faithfulness is great (3:23) and so we should have no problem trusting Him completely, knowing that He and He alone is always with us and for us (Romans 8:31)…our ever-present help in times of need (Psalm 46:1).

The call is to be faithful to God as He is faithful to us. This is what He favors.

2. A Blameless and Pure Life.

“…to the blameless, You show Yourself blameless, to the pure, You show Yourself pure…”

There’s no doubt that God demands and expects our full obedience to His Word and will for our lives…and when we completely commit ourselves to Him, seeking His guidance before we do anything, then and only then can we ensure we are living a life that is blameless and pure…the kind of life that He favors.

3. Humility.

“You save the humble…”

This trait can be a real challenge for a lot of people. I say that because we have a real tendency to be negatively impacted by our personal pride…personal pride that leads us to rely on ourselves instead the Lord…personal pride that can lead to destruction and disgrace (Proverbs 11:2, 16:18).

This isn’t what God desires. He wants us to fully rely on Him, understanding that we can’t make it in life without Him. Living a life grounded in humility will get us to that place, a place that He favors.

Faithfulness within a blameless, pure life that’s grounded in humility.

This is what God favors and we need only turn to Jesus and live as He did in order to achieve it. After all, as Christians aren’t we supposed to seek to be Christ-like in everything that we do…imitating His life through the way we live ours?

Friends, as we enter into the week to come, my prayer is that we will be laser-focused on Jesus, the One who is the way and the truth and the life…the only One who can bring us to God the Father (John 14:6). For in our Savior, we find the One who was the faithful source of our salvation…the One who was the blameless, pure Lamb of God who willingly shed His blood on Calvary’s cross to purchase the pardon of every sinner…the One who humbly surrender His life so we might have ours forever.

Or in other words, He refused to save Himself so we could be saved instead.

So what does the Lord favor?

Any life that Is set before Him that resembles the life of His Son…a life that is faithful, blameless, pure, and humble.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

HOW SHOULD THE LORD DEAL WITH ME?

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In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me.

For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not done evil by turning from my God.

All His laws are before me; I have not turned away from His decrees.

I have been blameless before Him and have kept myself from sin.

The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His sight.

2 Samuel 22:21-25

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How often do believers fall into the trap of becoming spiritually arrogant…acting as if they are so righteous that they are beyond fault and better than others? It’s an attitude that even spawned a saying that began many years ago…"Holier than thou”.

Well, unfortunately this happens way more than it ever should. For through the process of being transformed by the Holy Spirit and God’s word, a person can get so caught up in the powerful changes that are taking place within that they can lose sight of one of the most important qualities a Christian can have and show others…humility. This turning away from humility is one of the first steps that lead a person to feel they are spiritually superior to others.

Going to our verses for today as we continue to study the words from David’s special song of praise, we get a sense that he had gotten a little carried away with himself through this section for as we look at these verses we find him make the following statements:

“I have not done evil by turning from my God.”

“I have not turned away from His decrees.”

“I have been blameless before Him.”

“I have kept myself from sin.”

All this can leave us thinking to ourselves…

Really David?

What about that matter with the bathing beauty Bathsheba…the married woman that you couldn’t control your lust for and so you abused your authority as king and ordered her brought to you while her husband was away so you could sleep with her.

Seems to me that God had commanded this:

“You shall not commit adultery” and “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife” (Exodus 20:14, 17). Given this, you did turn from His decrees, failing to keep yourself from sin.

And then, as if this hadn’t been enough, you got Bathsheba pregnant, a real stick problem you needed to get out of and so you came up with a devious plan. You brought Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, back from the battlefield and tried to get him to sleep with his wife on two occasions so you could pin the pregnancy on him.

When that failed, you decided to just get rid of him, what you saw as an easy way to fix the sin-initiated situation you got yourself into. So you sent him back into battle with a note for Joab, instructing him to place Uriah on the frontlines where he would be most exposed to enemy attack. Your hope was that this would get him killed so you could then blame the pregnancy on him anyways.

After all, dead men tell no tales…right?

Your plan seemingly worked to perfection as Uriah died on the battlefield. You didn’t kill him yourself David but you may as well have because your scheming made you an accessory to his death.

With this, didn’t God also command that no one was to murder (Exodus 20:13)?

He did and so can you really say that you were “blameless before Him”? Had you really “not done evil” by turning from God?

The point here is that David was wrong in saying nearly everything within these verses, except for this:

“The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me…The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His sight.”

You see, although David thought he had gotten away with his sinful actions before his people, he quickly found out otherwise as God sent the king a message steeped in strong consternation and consequence through the prophet Nathan…a message that carried consequences. For the child that Bathsheba delivered, the one that David fathered, died. Further, David would later have a son, Absalom, who rebelled and attempted to take the throne from his father before dying at the hands of Joab (2 Samuel 12:1-19, 18:14).

And so, the Lord dealt with David according to his righteousness…according to his cleanness in His sight...and those dealings definitely were impacted by David’s sinful behavior.

Friends, there is an important lesson for us to glean from these words of David today. For who can say that they are blameless or sin-free before the Lord, especially given that the scriptures tell us that we are all sinners who fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23)?

Here’s what we can say…

The Lord deals with us according to our righteousness…according to the cleanness (or lack thereof) that we display in our lives which are carried out in His sight. Given this, we should always be in a place of self reflection, assessing how we can be more like Jesus while repenting of any times we have fallen short of doing what God requires. As we do, we need to ask ourselves one question:

How should the Lord deal with me in regard to my righteousness?

If we’re honest when we answer that question, doing so with a spirit of humility, we will find ourselves in the proper mindset which drives out spiritual arrogance…a place where the Lord always wants us to be.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

DIVINE RESCUE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.

He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes who were too strong for me.

They confronted me in the day of my disaster but the Lord was my support.

He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

2 Samuel 22:17-20

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I can remember many times in my life when I was in the midst of difficulty. One of the toughest things I have ever gone through was a very painful experience with being the victim of infidelity and the subsequent divorce that followed. This resulted in other cascading issues like the financial challenges of paying child support as well as the emotional challenges that came with only having visitational rights with the children that were born to me.

Yes, I’ve had to deal with this as well as a multitude of other problems across my nearly 67 years of life but this isn’t unusual, right? For it seems dealing with trials and tribulations is a part of the deal with living here this side of Heaven (or Hell depending on whether or not you have believed in Jesus). Indeed, as sure as we breathe in and out, we are destined to deal with hardships in life and it’s during those times that even the most devout, trusting believer can find their faith shaken at its foundations.

Going back to the Old Testament and our studies in 1 and 2 Samuel, we have seen that David certainly experienced more than his share of adversities in life, some brought on by his own sinfulness and some not…just like what we find happening with us. In the wake of those trying times, we have been looking at a wonderful song of praise written by him, a song that offers us amazing words of assurance and comfort. Let’s look again at today’s passage from the 22nd chapter of 2 Samuel:

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.

He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes who were too strong for me.

They confronted me in the day of my disaster but the Lord was my support.

He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me. Vv. 17-20

During our study of his life, we saw where David faced great threats against his life, having had to flee twice from his assailants just to stay alive. It was during those times of danger and uncertainty that David experienced the Lord reaching “down from on high’ and taking “a hold of” him while drawing him “out of deep waters”.

Truly, as we saw in yesterday’s message, God was (and is) mighty to save, possessing infinite strength that He uses to save those who place their trust in Him from powerful foes who may come after them, as they did David. It is during His times of deliverance that the Lord shows just how much He loves us, bringing divine rescue when we need it most because He delights in us…His children.

Quick question…

Have you ever experienced a divine rescue in your life?

Has the Lord ever reached down to you when you were in the deep waters of distress and despair, keeping you from drowning in the midst of your dilemma?

I think we all have experienced this to some degree and if you feel so moved, reply to this message with your testimony as it could serve to bless and inspire others.

So given this truth, that we serve a Lord who comes to bring divine rescue to His people in their time of need, why do we lose faith and doubt?

Well, I think the answer sits in the truth that we are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and this makes us far less than perfect people who are immersed within an often godless world which is filled with disbelief and faithlessness. This can lead to even the strongest Christian being adversely influenced but the good news is that when it happens, we find the Lord ready to throw us a life ring and save us when we come to our senses and return to Him for a help only He can bring.

Moving to the scriptures in the New Testament, we need to look no further than the Apostle Peter to see how doubt can creep inside the heart and soul of even the most devout followers of the Lord, doubt that can cause them to sink into the depths of their circumstances. Here’s what we find in Matthew’s Gospel:

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowd. After He had dismissed them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to You on the water."

“Come," He said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. "You of little faith," He said, "why did you doubt?"

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." 14:22-33

In this account, we see Peter…the one Jesus had called the rock He would build His church upon (Matthew 16:18)…seeing Jesus walking across the water. Not believing His eyes, He asked Jesus to call for him if it was really Him on the water…and we see where Jesus did just that.

So we read where Peter, the faithful disciple that he was, climbed out of the boat and when he did something remarkable happened. He too walked on water and began to head toward Jesus, his Lord and soon to be His Savior.

We should note that Peter wasn’t in any distress at the time he stepped out of the boat. His faith in Jesus sustained Him and kept him on top of the water.

But then things changed, didn’t they?

The scriptures tell us that Peter “saw the wind” and the way they were churning up the waves…and he became afraid. In that moment, he allowed his faith to be overcome by his fear and as a result, he began to sink into the water. Fearing he might drown, we see where he cried out to Jesus with a simple three word request:

“Lord, Save me!”

And saving is just what Jesus brought to Peter as He reached out His hand to grab a hold of Peter before he went under. He then helped His disciple back into the boat before simply asking:

“You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Indeed, why did Peter doubt? After all, he had seen Jesus do miracle after miracle bringing healing to the afflicted and driving our demons from the possessed. Over and over again, He had revealed a power not found in any other human on earth, and yet, Peter lost his faith…mostly because he allowed his focus to shift toward his circumstances and away from His Lord.

You know, we’re not really that much different than Peter, are we? For we have a real tendency to let our fears override our faith when the winds of our hardship begin to blow around and against us. And as we begin to sink into a place where we feel uncertainty and desperation setting in, we find ourselves crying out as Peter did:

“Lord, save me!”

The good news is that when we do, we experience the Lord’s saving hand reach down and pull us out of the deep place of desolation we found ourselves in, providing divine rescue from our troubles so that we might be able to get back on our feet and do what Jesus called us to do (Matthew 28:18-20).

Friends, is this not good news for us…not only today but each and every day?

For as believers, we need to never be afraid…to never doubt no matter what life might bring our way because we serve a Lord who is indeed mighty to save…a Lord who is ready to bring us deliverance from our troubles as only He can in accordance with His will for our lives.

So let’s recommit ourselves to just trust Him, no matter what, for if we do then we will find ourselves in the same spirit of rejoicing and praise that we find David in when he wrote this wonderful song we’re studying.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

MIGHTY TO SAVE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because He was angry.

Smoke rose from His nostrils; consuming fire came from His mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.

He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under His feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness His canopy around Him — the dark rain clouds of the sky.

Out of the brightness of His presence, bolts of lightning blazed forth. The Lord thundered from Heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.

He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them.

The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of breath from His nostrils.

2 Samuel 22:8-16

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever gone outside at night and encountered a sky that was crystal clear without a cloud in sight?

It’s a special scene that allows the stars to be revealed in all their splendor around a spectacular view of the moon.

I don’t know about you but on those occasions when I’ve been blessed with this experience, it has always served to remind me of the beauty found in creation and the awesome nature of God, the Creator. For we only need to begin reading the opening chapters of the Bible from the Book of Genesis to know that it was the Lord who created everything we know, placing everyone of those stars and planets in the place He appointed. The scriptures tell us that He knows them all by name (Psalm 147:4).

Of course, this is only one of many things we see in life that lead us to appreciate God’s awesome, creative nature. I’m writing this and you will be reading it later as adults but go back to when we began to be formed. We were only a single cell within our mother’s womb that transformed into a human being. Every single baby born today should cause awe and wonder within our hearts and minds over how the Lord makes people who go onto occupy His creation and carry on the Kingdom work within it.

Before I move on, I would encourage you to take some time to write down the other incredible things you have experienced in our world that lead you to remember how God has revealed His power in this world. Then, take a moment to say a prayer of praise, thanking the Lord for revealing His wonder and majesty, each and every day.

As we see in our passage today, David definitely took time to speak out about God’s omnipotence as he wrote his song of praise. In today’s verses, we find him strongly declaring what He witnessed as the Lord moved in power against those who desired to do him harm.

First, we see where the Lord’s mere anger had an astounding impact on Heaven and earth as both trembled under the stress of His wrath, punctuated by the smoke from His nostrils and consuming fire from His mouth.

And so as David’s enemies attempted to kill him, the Lord would have none of it. We read where He “parted the heavens”, “came down” with “dark clouds…under His feet”, and “mounted the cherubim and flew” while He “soared on the wings of the wind”. As He descended, darkness…”the dark rain clouds of the sky”…was the “canopy around Him”. Additionally, we read where “the valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth” were “laid bare” at the sound of His rebuke and “the blast of breath from His nostrils”.

Wow!

Imagine how David’s enemies must have felt when facing the coming wrath of the Lord and His associated power. For “out of the brightness of His presence” came “bolts of lightning” as He “thundered from heaven” with His voice resounding. The scriptures tell us that the Lord’s arrows and bolts of lightning were shot toward David’s enemies, scattering them before they were routed.

In other words, the Lord displayed His might in order to save His appointed, anointed king, David…and the good news is that He does the same for us, His children. For like Israel’s king, we serve an all powerful God who is the Maker and Master of all things in Heaven and on earth. And with Him with us and for us, no one or nothing can stand against us because they can’t withstand His unsurpassable strength. There isn’t a single enemy who can find victory, something David experienced it first-hand…and so will we when we follow his lead and place our full faith and trust in the only One who possesses the might to save us.

Thanks be to God for being our invincible, supreme Protector and Sustainer.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.