Understanding GOD’s WAY / WORD / WORK in our LIVES!
April 6 Bible
Reading: 2 Samuel Chapters 22-24
Understanding GOD’s WAY / WORD / WORK in our LIVES!
“As for God, His way is perfect; the word
of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God,
except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? God is my strength and
power and He makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of
deer, and sets me on my high places.
He teaches my hands to make war, so
that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. ‘You have also given me the shield of
Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great. You enlarged my path under
me; so my feet did not slip’" (2 Sam 22:31-37).
David was
the eight son of Jesse whom God had raised up from taking care of his father’s
sheep in the outskirts of Bethlehem to becoming the second king of Israel. Even
though he was obscure in the worldly standards and deemed unworthy by his own
parents to be part of the family gathering, God had sought and chosen David as
a man after His own heart (1 Sam. 13:14, 1 Sam. 16:7). Even after David was
anointed by Samuel in the midst of his brothers in his tender age (1 Sam.
16:13), his way to the throne of Israel was anything but easy.
Now, as the
old King David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, is reminiscing about his past and
the struggles he had to face to reach the throne of Israel, he crafts his
thoughts in a poetic fashion where he is extolling about God’s way, God’s word
and God’s work in his life. Saul was dead, the kingdom was united under his
leadership, and Israel’s foes were beaten back. This psalm (a duplicate of Psalm
18) was probably penned after David had firmly established himself on the
throne, and was composed to commemorate the consistent intervention of God in
his affairs, particularly God’s deliverances from his various conflicts.
The psalm
has a great theological significance (vv. 26–28, 36) as David describes God as
perfect (v. 31) and affirms that God’s Word
had been tested and had not failed him in the past. God had delivered David from
his many enemies and had kept him alive. All the ways of God were just; the work
of God was seen in His strength towards him, His protection through his battles,
His provisions during his wilderness sojourns and His salvation that was
experienced every day. David did not take credit for any of his victories; instead
he gave the glory to God as he had obeyed the Word of God and had trusted God
to keep His promise and put him on the throne of Israel.
As he looked
back on those years of danger and difficulty, David did not see the hardness of
life; instead he saw God’s way, God’s Word and God’s work in his life. Through
his constant troubles, David only saw the gentleness of God that had truly made
him great (v. 36b).
In the
similar manner, if your life today seems hard and troubling, but keep trusting
and obeying in the goodness and promises of God. One of these days, God will
give you your own victory song, and you will experience greatness through the
gentle dealing of God. Just accept the open invitation from Jesus and go to Him
today for help and deliverance!
