In The Word
Read: Psalms 60
Lament over Defeat in Battle, and Prayer for Help.
For the choir director; according to Shushan Eduth. A Mikhtam of David, to teach; when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
60 O God, You have rejected us. You have broken us;
You have been angry; O, restore us.
2 You have made the land quake, You have split it open;
Heal its breaches, for it totters.
3 You have made Your people experience hardship;
You have given us wine to drink that makes us stagger.
4 You have given a banner to those who fear You,
That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
5 That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and answer us!
6 God has spoken in His holiness:
“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth.
7 “Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the helmet of My head;
Judah is My scepter.
8 “Moab is My washbowl;
Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;
Shout loud, O Philistia, because of Me!”
9 Who will bring me into the besieged city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us?
And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?
11 O give us help against the adversary,
For deliverance by man is in vain.
12 Through God we shall do valiantly,
And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines just as a man disciplines his son. We should not regard this lightly, nor ignore it. Instead, when we mess up, we should be broken and repentant, knowing that we have grieved our Father. Our heavenly Father loves us so much that He deals with us as sons and daughters. So, if you truly know Him as your Father, you can expect Him to correct you when you are disobedient. If He does not, then you are an illegitimate child.
No one likes discipline, yet to those who have been trained by it, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. He disciplines us for our good so that we may share His holiness.
When we walk in that kind of relationship, we can expect our Father to tread down our adversaries. No enemy can prevail against Him. He has given those of us who walk in His ways a banner. That banner over us is love…a perfect love that casts out all fear.
So next time you experience hardship, stop and ask yourself if there is any area in your life that you are being disobedient. Ask the Father to reveal anything in your life that needs to change or be corrected. If He shows you something, stop, and with a broken and contrite heart, truly repent. Then once again, follow in your Father’s footsteps.