Psalm 57:9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.
God is as Real as Your Issues
Do you have issues, problems, worries, or questions? We all do, and we always have. When you look at the Psalms, you find that not only are they timeless, they were given birth by problems that David and others had. Of course, God gave the psalms, but He gave them to people who were living in a point of time. This is Heaven’s poetry given through earth’s circumstances.
Before we look at any psalms, let us look at some of the settings of these psalms. For instance, before Psalm 56 it says, “To the chief Musician… when the Philistines took him in Gath.” Remember when David tried to escape Saul by going to Gath? Well, this psalm is written in that setting from that context.
The preface to Psalm 57 says, “To the chief Musician… when he fled from Saul in the cave.” Remember when David was hiding in the cave from Saul? That is the setting for Psalm 57.
Look at Psalm 59. The preface says, “To the chief Musician…when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.” You might recall that Saul sent messengers to kill David, and Michel, David’s wife, created a ruse that helped David escape.
The preface for Psalm 60 says, “When he strove… when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand.” You may not remember that occasion, but David did.
All these psalms have a setting. These psalms came about “when.” There was an actual event, an actual time, an actual place, and an actual person. The point is that God is as real as your issues. These psalms do not merely represent pretty poetry. This is God’s truth through man’s troubles and problems. God is as real as your issues. So, there are three things you ought to do.
First, pray it up. If it is a big enough issue to worry about, it is a big enough thing about which to pray. Send that problem skyward. That is exactly what David did in Psalms 56-60.
Second, think it through. So many times we see God work and we haven’t even been mindful enough of it to take note of it. Sometimes, God answers my prayers, and a day later I forget that I had even prayed about the issue because I am no longer worried about it.
Third, write it down. Maybe you are not a big journal person, but it would be well for you to write down what it is that God has done.
If you are going to have troubles today, then take it to God. Pray it up, think it through, and write it down. Ask God to help, and take note when He does. Be encouraged a year from now by looking back at your own personal history and the time “when” God answered prayer. All these psalms came from a time, a place, and a problem, and God is every bit as real as the issues that you will face today.