Lions and Praise

Lions and Praise

Psalm 57

Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
for I take refuge in you.
I will seek refuge in the shadow of your wings
until danger passes.
2 I call to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He reaches down from heaven and saves me,
challenging the one who tramples me.Selah
God sends his faithful love and truth.
4 I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down among devouring lions—
people whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 God, be exalted above the heavens;
let your glory be over the whole earth.
6 They prepared a net for my steps;
I was despondent.
They dug a pit ahead of me,
but they fell into it!Selah
7 My heart is confident, God, my heart is confident.
I will sing; I will sing praises.
8 Wake up, my soul!
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.
9 I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your faithful love is as high as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
11 God, be exalted above the heavens;
let your glory be over the whole earth.

My state of mind and heart has gone back and forth between the 2 halves of this psalm for the past few weeks. Verses 1-6 cry to God for help during attack from all sides while 7-11 rejoice in His faithfulness and deliverance. Some days, I’m 1-6. Other days, I’m 7-11.

I have so much for which to rejoice in the Lord. He has heard me, and answered my prayer. I could practically “wake up the dawn” in praise to Him.

But there are still lions that surround me and threaten to devour my hope and steal my faith. They come in the form of doubts, fears, and distrust that God may yet take away the very answer He’s provided me. I have been struggling to fight them off with the cry of “My heart is confident, God!”

So this is the tension in which I find myself, much like David. Some seasons will come that are like that. In the midst of fear, doubt, attack, God’s faithful love still reaches “as high as the heavens” and His glory will still “be over all the earth.” In that, our hearts can be confident.

So where are you today? In verses 1-6, or 7-11? Are you in the midst of lions, or could you wake up the dawn in praise? If it changes tomorrow, you’re not alone. My prayer is that through the Holy Spirit, we are able to choose 7-11 even when we’re in 1-6.