“So will I ever sing praises to your name, as I perform my
vows day after day.”
Recently
the Lord has been teaching me so much about developing the simultaneity of my
spiritual life and my everyday life. The
quoted verse above captures this concept so well as does the rest of Psalm 61.
I
really enjoyed this practice of slowly reading and grasping the heart behind
scripture. As I applied it to Psalm 61 I
found the Spirit speaking so strongly to me about my current circumstances, and
the words of the passage became the words I wanted to express to the Lord.
Verse 1
implies this is a cry to God, connoting desperation and pleading for him to
hear what is so urgent to me. In a place
that felt so remote from his presence and hung hopelessness over my faint head,
I asked him to help me rise above it all – to lead me to a place of stability
and strength that is higher (verse 2). He
has been my safety and security in the past, another elevated stronghold (“strong
tower”) against whatever is against me (verse 3).
I just
want to be where you are, Lord! Please
just let me stay; I don’t want to lose where I am when I am near you! I come to you humbly, asking that you would
cover me wholly with the protection of your wings – that you would guard my
heart in this way (verse 4). You know
that that is what I want, for you know all the vows, or commitments, that I
have made and all the responsibilities that those hold. You have given me a heritage to continue, one
of fearing your name. Therefore, I need
your presence and protection (verse 5).
The
psalmist prayed for the fidelity of the king, the one who represented the
people and the community. If the king
was well, so was the kingdom. Lord, I
ask these things not solely for my sake, but for my community! Whoever you appoint to lead it or minister to
it in any way, whether it is myself or another, bless the ministry! May it always be of you, through you, by you,
or for you. But again, the careful watch
of your steadfast love and faithfulness is so desperately needed (verses 6-7).
“So
will I ever sing praises to your name, as I perform my vows day after day”
(verse 8). The reality is I have so many
commitments (vows) – so many things that fill my schedule and keep me
busy. I was struggling to rise above the
mess of my schedule, to see the Lord in everything and to do all for him. I was separating my spiritual life from my
practical, everyday life and in turn I couldn’t find enough time for the
spiritual. I knew that was not what God
intended. I knew there was something
more to this.
The
Lord showed me the beauty of simultaneity…the meshing of my spiritual and
everyday lives. Even as I go about each
of my daily commitments – class, meetings, work, church, etc. – I can seek him
for strength (with a prayer like Psalm 61) and gratefully sing praises to his
name and lift up new songs to him. That
is the word living in me which, God-willing, will affect the community around
me as well.
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