The Stillness of the Night

It's 2:07 in the morning and I couldn't be more awake. The house is dark and quiet as I sit still on the couch upstairs. I pulled out my Bible and started reading the book of Psalms. The truth and light that the Psalms shed is incredible. I am blown away every time I read of our God's power and how He has been working through people from the very beginning of time. I began to read Psalm 18 and it had a completely different meaning for me then it has in the past. David is addressing the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord rescued Him from the hand of all his enemies. Reading the words on the page that David spoke brings me so much JOY! "In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears" (vs. 6). David was no different from us. In our times of distress we call upon the Lord. We want our Father to hear us and comfort us in times that are hard. He hears our cries and he listens to our every word! David goes on to acknowledge how GREAT our God is! "For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? The God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of the deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed. For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me. You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed. The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation. For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name!"(vs. 31-49). David from the beginning of this Psalm is stating his love for the Lord. David is sharing with us how he is yearning for God and the close love that he has for his Father. This is the kind of love that we pray and yearn for daily. A love so strong that we can confidently say that we have are arms wrapped so tightly around our Father. David explains to us how he has been saved from his enemies and God was so faithful and deserves all the praise. Seeing God for his worthiness is so important, as David points out for us. I pray that we will daily remember that God is the only person deserving of our focus, praise, and service because of all that He does. Revelation 4:11 says, "Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power because YOU have created all things, and because of YOUR will they exist and were created." Please pray that the worthiness of God is something that we will seek daily. David goes on to talk about how God took delight in him. In the same way God takes delight in us. God takes delight in all of his children! This is such a beautiful picture! When we are obedient to the things that God has called us to, He takes such delight. God is always our number one fan. He wants the absolute best for us no matter what the circumstance. We must see our Father in this light. Reading this passage in the stillness of tonight has shed a new light. Just like God delivered David, He is waiting to deliver us. He wants us to yearn for Him. He wants us to draw close to Him. He wants us to recognize His worthiness and be the only one deserving of our focus and praise. He wants us to delight in Him and be obedient when He calls us. So many things that David learned we are learning today. The same God that delivered David and called Him by name is calling us! My heart is thankful tonight for the blessing of knowing this God and knowing that His plan for us is HUGE! I pray that Nathan and I will continue to cry out to God and seek Him in the stillness of the days to come. He is waiting patiently and we are so blessed to have a Father whose love never runs dry!