The 23rd Psalm was written by David during the time he was on the run from King Saul. David and his "mighty men" were on the run because they didn't want to kill King Saul. King Saul was chasing David to kill him. Go figure. Anyway, King Saul had pursued David and his men into a canyon with no exit. They were trapped. No way out. Certain death was upon them David took to writing poetry (or in this case a psalm) of thanksgiving to God. Many of us have memorized the 23rd Psalm and repeated it over and over through out our lives. Bud do we really know what the Psalm is all about? Do we understand the implications that brought David to this point? What do we know about our own circumstances that we might have written something similar? We aren't that much different from David except he had more faith than most of us. Faith that God would take care of him as usual. We know the end of the story that King Saul was unable to fulfill his mission and left David alive.
So, YOU are being chased by your worst enemy and are now cornered in an alley mid block of 96th St in Anytown, USA. What would you be thinking? "GOD GET ME OUT OF HERE NOW!!" would be my guess. It seems that many of us that our faith is challenged only when we are desperate. The rest of the time we are convinced that we not only can take care of ourselves but also are able to do so without consulting or asking God to help. If you went to Sunday School you no doubt were taught about the hero's of the Bible. You were taught that God raised them up and took care of them. That was then and this is now. The Sunday School lessons are the same. The message is the same. The end result is the same; we disregard what we have been taught and seek the glory for ourselves. Our desire to remain independent and self-serving only deepens the desire to "do life" without God's help or direction. Sounds kind of silly doesn't it?
There were one reason King Saul and his army turned back. God demanded his servant David to live and be King. During this chase, King Saul grew more and more determined to kill David. When he finally had David cornered Saul knew that this would finish off David and his men. What was so important that Saul abandoned his quest? A "runner" had arrived and told Saul that the Egyptians were invading the southern territory and that his help was needed right away. So King Saul, his army and the "runner" hopped on helicopters and went to fight the battle. Not really. They did leave to go defend the southern kingdom though thus sparing David and his men's lives. Please understand that this is simply not this simple.
The "runner" was approximately 2 weeks running time when he began the journey to deliver the message. David and his men hadn't even entered the canyon at that time. However, in the two weeks of travel time David and his men were backed into a corner. But that's not the end of the story. God arranged for the Egyptians to invade the southern kingdom knowing that in 2 weeks time the "runner" would give the word to King Saul and they would retreat. This resulted in David and his men escaping and later becoming King David and his Mighty Men. The such that legends are made out of. God had planned ahead of time what would happen in the future so that His will could be made complete. We may have some better understanding that the 23rd Psalm was a psalm of thanksgiving as David was chosen by God because he had given everything in his life over to God to do as he willed. David knew God would take care of him even though he didn't know how.
If you have adversity in your life remember that help is on the way. The Bible tells us that "He knows the desires of our heart even before the words have passed through our lips." There are so many references to God coming into play "at just the right time." that we can have confidence that he has a plan, he's working it out, and we don't need to worry. His invisible battle rages on as well with the Heavenly host battling Satan and his demons who desire your life. When you keep your heart and mind stayed on God those battles are less important as you KNOW that God will rescue you and keep you safe. Even if that means taking you home to be with him. Sleep easy tonight knowing that the plan God has for you has been worked out since before you were conceived. God is good...all the time.
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