The Lord is My Rock

Psalm 18:1-3 - I love You, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my mountain where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.

All of us could make a list of troubles and difficulties we have experienced in life. We could also give testimony of ways in which God was our refuge in those difficult times. Like David, we can attest that the Lord is worthy to be praised.

But if we keep reading Psalm 18, we see the depths of despair that David went through before the Lord delivered him. David talked about ropes of death wrapped around him and snares of death confronting him. Both of those phrases are powerful visual images of how bad David’s situation was. Most of our problems do not take us to the edge of death and back. But David knew such deep turmoil in his soul because of the range of troubles that he had been through. Perhaps that is why his love for God bloomed so brightly.

When we go through difficult times we are often tempted to be angry at God for letting us down. David went to through a living hell according to verse 5 and yet he did not get bitter or angry. Instead he said God’s way was perfect and that God would make his way perfect too. Difficulties make us bitter or they make us better. If we choose faith in God, we find the strength to go down the path of betterment instead of bitterness.

Though we do not always understand God's plan for our lives, we can rest in the assurance that God does indeed have a plan. God's ways are perfect and as we learn to love Him more, He can make our ways perfect too. Regardless of what we are facing today, let us chose the path of faith and give praise to a God who has all things under control.

Lord, help the difficulties of our lives make us better, not bitter. Amen.

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This devotional is from the book “Heavenly Mundane” by Dr. Terry W. Dorsett. Dr. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY