- araratchurch
- Mar 18, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 20, 2022
100 Days with David
Day 4: If the Lord is with you, you can rest in peace.
“I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.” Psalms 3:5 NKJV
“I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalms 4:8 NKJV
I remember when I was a child, sometimes dreading for night to come. If I had been scared by something during the day, I could put it out of my mind; but it seemed with the stillness of the night, it would come back to me, manifesting in bad dreams and restless sleep. Sadly, for many people, troubled sleep doesn’t end with childhood. I remember my mother saying that when she went to bed at night, all of her fears would come back to her mind, and then she would worry. Why? Because during the day she was busy with her responsibilities and the clamor of life. But the stillness of the night, without all those distractions, allowed that nagging fear to manifest itself.
When inquiring about your worst fear(s) people will often ask, “What keeps you up at night?” Apparently, sleep disturbed by worry is ubiquitous.
Doing a cursory look into the cost of insomnia, I found that it adds nearly 100 billion dollars to the cost of the healthcare system in the United States, per year. Imagine the cost worldwide! But, the monetary drain pales in comparison to the drain on productivity, and on a personal level, to a sense of well-being. Now, whereas this is all true, it should not be true for the child of God.
In our opening passage for today we see David expressing the fact that he can rest in peace, rest with confidence, knowing that although he is asleep, the Lord is awake, watching over him. This confidence to be able to rest In peace is echoed in two of the songs of ascent; one is credited to David’s son, Solomon. [Psalms 120 - 134 are considered “songs of ascent,” apparently sung as worshipers climbed the hill towards Jerusalem, or on other pilgrimages.]
“Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep.” Psalms 127:1-2 NKJV (Solomon)
“He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalms 121:3-4 NKJV
The Lord once spoke to me that there are two dangerous mind sets. One is that of “sufficiency outside of God,” the other, surprisingly, is “insufficiency in God.” Now, many do struggle with laying aside the troubles of the day as they lie down to sleep. But the Lord is our Shepherd and He leads us into the green pastures of His provision, care, and keeping. If He is not with us, we have every reason to worry; but, if He is with us, we have every reason to have confidence that He is taking care of us.
The sentiment to “rest in peace,” should not be reserved for the dead; they are beyond their need for rest. However, we who are living, desperately need to rest in peace by remembering that the Lord watching over us.
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
If the Lord is with you, you can REST IN PEACE!
- araratchurch
- Mar 17, 2022
- 3 min read
“Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.”
Psalms 3:2-3 NKJV
I was sitting on the floor when one of my adult, and at the time, very successful older relatives, passing by me, said, “I heard you’re going to Agnes Scott College.” I answered that I was, prompting the relative to ask what would be my major. I told the person that I was going to have a double major, one of those majors being in Psychology. I remember how the person slapped their leg, laughing and repeating to another relative standing nearby, what I had just said. At this, they both laughed. The first person went on to say something meaning that I would never make it at that college in that major. As a very young person, that was a stinging insult coming from someone who’s approval held great clout with our family. But even then, I knew that they were wrong, and that I would make it, as I did, with the help of the Lord.
Unbelievably, that was nearly 50 years ago. Time after time since then I have seen the Lord do what naysayers lampooned, including the establishment of Ararat Church.
“But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?” So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.””
Nehemiah 2:19-20 NKJV
“Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king. And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, “There is a king in Judah!” Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together. Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.” For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”
Nehemiah 6:5-9 NKJV
Anytime I think of naysayers, my mind goes to the story of Nehemiah who had found himself—in exile—being the cupbearer to a Persian king. As the account goes, he went back to Jerusalem to rebuild its broken down and burned walls. Of course, as you see in the scriptures from Nehemiah above, there was a group who tried to stop his work through the use of false accusation (when ridicule failed to succeed). I remember my father preaching sermons about this in which he would stress the verse saying, “and Gashmu [Geshem] says….” The point he was making: there is always someone around to be a naysayer concerning you and what you are doing.
Today we opened with a portion of the third psalm where King David is referencing those who were saying that he had no chance of making it. But, reflecting on their words, he affirms his trust in the Lord saying, “But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.” He knew that the Lord could make him able to hold his head up in confidence, rather than hanging it in shame and defeat. He knew that the Lord’s word carries the day.
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
Ultimately, what the Lord says, is the only commentary that matters.
- araratchurch
- Mar 16, 2022
- 3 min read
“Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me.” Psalms 3:1 NKJV
As you may already know, King David had many wives, therefore having children from many different women (remember, this was a different day and time; and, what we read in the Bible is not necessarily prescriptive, but descriptive, as is the case here). Among his children was a beautiful young woman named Tamar. Now, Tamar’s half-brother (having a different mother), Ammon, fell in love with her and wanted to be with her. So, on the advice of a “friend,” Amnon contrived a scheme. Pretending to be very ill, he asked his father, King David, to send Tamar to feed him. So, David asked Tamar to go care for her brother, which she did. At this point, Amnon completed his scheme by raping his half-sister, Tamar. As soon as he had done the terrible deed, his heart turned against her. He then put her out in shame, rather than taking her as his wife, which would have saved her reputation (again, recognize that this was another day and time when women bore the shame/guilt for being sexually assaulted). Tamar, heartbroken and “ruined,” went and lived in the home of her beloved brother, Absalom. David, upon hearing about the assault against Tamar, was greatly angered; but it seems that he did nothing to avenge Tamar.
Now, Absalom was an extraordinarily handsome man and a great warrior. He held in his heart the great injustice that have been done against Tamar, by Amnon. After two years passed, he decided to exact his revenge. Now, he knew he could not directly strike out against his brother. So, he devised a scheme of his own to get Amnon where he would be vulnerable. Absalom threw a party for all of David’s sons and at that party he had his servants kill Amnon in the sight of the others.
Making a long story short, after having fled from King David, Absalom was eventually allowed to return to Jerusalem where he began to undermine David’s power to the point of turning the peoples’ hearts toward him, forcing David to flee the kingdom.
“Now a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.” So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”” II Samuel 15:13-14 NKJV
Our opening scripture today comes from Psalms 3. It was written by David when he was on the run from his own son, Absalom.
If you have lived any time at all, you have found out (the hard way) that it is often the people closest to you who cause you the most pain. Never was that fact more true than in the life of King David.
Our Lord Jesus Christ also knew the sting of being betrayed by someone very close to Him.
“And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”” Luke 22:47-48 NKJV
Not only that, but His own people, in general, rejected Him.
“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” John 1:11 NKJV
Sadly, rejection—even betrayal—are facts of life, often coming at the hands of those whom we have loved, helped, and trusted. The good news is that the Lord will not forsake us and He will always keep us. We will discuss that matter further in the next couple of days as we continue to consider Psalms 3.
For today, let us understand and know what David knew:
Sometimes, those closest to you, cause you the most pain. #100dayswithdavid