Psalm 26
Have you ever doubted where you stand with the Lord? Have you ever concerned yourself with your relationship with Him because of what you are experiencing in your daily life? I think David is going through that in this psalm. He asks God to vindicate him, meaning to reveal the truth. Sometimes we get bogged down with the daily hardships of life. Even though we do our best to “do everything right” we still grow weary. In 2 Thessalonians 3 the Apostle Paul was writing to the church and instructing them on how to handle unruly folks in the church and he encourages them by saying:
13But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.
David was clinging to the confidence of his faith and his relationship with God. He knew where he stood, but it didn’t make the struggle easier. Sometimes it feels like it doesn’t make a difference. Sometimes we cannot understand why we work so hard to love others and serve God but things around us till look dismal. Sometimes we pour ourselves into the lives of others but we see no change. Don’t grow weary. Just because we don’t see change doesn’t mean change isn’t happening.
When you plant a seed in the dirt to grow, what would happen if every week you dug it back up to see if something was happening? The seed would never grow! We must remember it is up to us to plant the seeds and God to create the growth. Paul also wrote in Galatians 6:
9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
In verse 8 of the psalm David begins to worship God for the wonder of His presence. When we find ourselves in the middle of the muck of life, but continue to work towards building our relationship with God, we are able to enjoy His presence and rejoice in the joy we have in our hearts. This is what sets us apart from the rest of the world. While everyone else sees things with their physical eyes, we are able to see things with our spiritual eyes. While everyone’s emotions tell them to be sad, disheartened and angry, God’s presence tells us not to worry and to rejoice in the One who has everything under control.
Our job isn’t to save the world; it’s to obey God by leading them to the Savior. It’s a dirty job but someone’s gotta do it and it might as well be us who know where the Savior is!
