David Knew
I was reading in Psalm 119 this morning when I discovered a jewel. Verse 143 in the New Living Translation (1996) says, As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands. One thing I love about David is that he told it just like it was for him. He did not hold back and often poured out his heart before God in all honesty, realness, and rawness. When I realized that he did that in many of the psalms, it gave me the freedom to do the same. I mean, it's not like God doesn't know - right?
Here, David is expressing that not only is he stressed all the way out - but he's also feeling the pressure of the load. But then one of the other things I love about David comes into play. He always ran back to the Word - what God had said - who God was. And those always trumped his circumstances.
As these thoughts were racing through my mind, I realized that David knew quite a bit about caregiving. I do not know when he wrote Psalm 119, but I let my run back over his life. Firstly, he was a true shepherd and cared for the sheep. He protected his sheep. Once, he killed a bear and another time, he killed a lion that attacked his sheep, and he did it with no weapons! He was a brave protector. That's why he could say with certain confidence, the Lord is my shepherd. He understood the shepherd's heart.
But David did have a bit of a caregiver's heart, too. After Jonathan and Saul were killed, he went looking for anyone left in their lineage. He found Miphebosheth. (2 Samuel 9) Miphebosheth was handicapped. When he was a small boy, the nurse grabbed him up and started running with him in the middle of the war. She was going to hide him so he'd be safe. But she tripped as she hurried away, and when she fell, it damaged his feet. They never healed. They didn't have walkers and wheelchairs back then, and they certainly didn't have proper medical care available. David sent for Mephibosheth and sat the handicapped young man at his own table and cared for him as a tribute to his friend, Jonathan. So, he knew a little bit about caregiving.
Thirdly, David took care of a kingdom. He had the daily pressure of making choices that would affect an entire "nation." He provided for them. David fought for them. And He protected them. So, I guess he did know.
Of course, there's no way of knowing what specific pressures and stressors where pressing in on him here. But we do know that he ran straight to God with them. In the next few verses, it says he prayed, he cried out to God for help, and he focused on what God had promised. I can follow that pattern, today.
Today, I will bring God everything on my heart and all those things filling up my mind. (And that's a LOT!) I will ask God for help, for direction, and wisdom. Then, I will lean on His word and every promise He's ever given us. I'll trust Him for His peace as I navigate a complicated day. And I will trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?
Check out one of my best-selling books - 31 Days in Psalm 31. It's a devotional taken from Psalm 31 (obviously!) - a time when David was hiding in a cave from Saul - even though he'd been anointed the next king. The social isolation of caregiving can certainly make it feel like we live in a cave but God is there with us. And that's what this 31-day devotional is all about, exploring and discovering God in the caves of life. You can get the eBook from my shop at Buy Me A Coffee. Or the print and kindle versions are available in my Amazon Shop.
COMING SOON!!
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