FEED YOUR FAITH

by Idaline Prince

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

¹ Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!
² Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.”^[b]

³ But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
⁴ I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.

⁵ I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
⁶ I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.

⁷ Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸ From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.

Psalm 3

“Feed you faith and your fears, worries, doubts will starve to death” How true is the saying!! But we on the contrary invest time and energy brooding over our problems which can eventually take a toll on our psychological and physical health. A quick look at the eight verses in this Psalm, highlights on how worry withers and faith blossoms.

The background in which this Psalm was scripted is seen in 2 Samuel 15-18 where David is hiding from Absalom. To make things worse, his counselor Ahithophel joins the opponent and a descendant of Saul who meets David curses him on his face. With family and friends who have turned their backs on David, it seemed there was none on his side. He cries out all His worries to God (Vs 1,2).

In the next two verses we see a sudden shift in his attitude. Instead of sitting on sackcloth and mourning, he puts on a garment of praise. He does not name the problems but he praises the attributes of His great God. After he has offered a sacrifice of praise, he asks God to hear him from His holy mountain. With praise and thanksgiving he makes known his petitions to God.

Once the burdens and care are laid at the foot of the throne, he fully knows that he doesn’t have to carry them anymore. David sings about the restful sleep in caves and wilderness while his enemy is trying to hunt him down. It’s a strange paradox, yet David’s unshakable faith is measured with the peace that he experiences.

The Psalm ends with a beautiful assurance “From the Lord comes deliverance”.   David’s word testifies his faith. The Psalmist teaches a lesson of how betrayal can be turned to blessing with faith. As the song goes, “Even when the enemy means for evil, you turn it for our good”!

How can you feed your faith and help it thrive during storms?

*Seek His presence – you depend more on God than anyone else

*Praise God for who He is – you shift focus from the greatness of your problems to the greatness of God

*Peace as a plumb line – peace is the external sign of faith rooted within you

*Speak faith – faith confessions strengthen us and weaken the evil one