Day 54 with David: We should never bite the Hand that feeds us.

“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭30:11-12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Every woman who has ever nursed a child can identify with the phrase, “biting the hand that feeds you.” Now, in this case it isn’t a hand; but it is nonetheless the source from which the child’s nourishment flows. The mother’s body is producing milk to nourish the child, helping it to thrive. But every once in a while—particularly when they start getting little swollen gums with the first surfacing of tiny white “saws”—the baby will decide to use the mother as a teething ring. Now, this is not conducive to milk production, to say the least. Babies are precious; they don’t really know what they’re doing (except for when they make eye contact with you before bearing down with their little teeth as their mouth forms just the slightest hint of a grin). Even so, they may miss a meal or two from that bitten “hand.”

And then there’s the dogs we take in and love so much. Sometimes, you will find a dog that is a “food protector.” If you act as though you are getting their food, they will threaten you with their grin and growl, sometimes making good on the threat. Case in point: when I was a little girl we had a dog, a precious German Shepherd-Spitz mix. We all loved her very much. But believe me, if you got near her food, she would indeed carry through with “biting the hand that was feeding her.”

And then I have seen married individuals who are very well-cared for by their mates, yet treated their spouse with contempt, always very deprecating of them. Yet, that same individual is very often super complementary of others (of the opposite sex), always “laughing at their jokes” (if you get it, you get it).

So, what do an infant biting a mother’s breast, a dog biting its owner’s fingers, and a sottish spouse have to do with you? With us?

You see, we have a wonderful Father. He has given us more than we can ever begin to fathom. And yet, so many times—even those of us who will acknowledge how good God has been—end up biting His hand. We do so by complaining about the hard breaks we’ve received and complaining about the times the Lord “didn’t come through for us.” We may become unthankful for the very Giver of life! It’s not a good look; and the Lord will have none of it.

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1:20-21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Additionally, we may bite the Lord’s hand by not obeying what He has said. If we believe He is the One from Whom all blessings flow, why would we ever walk in disobedience to Him? Jesus put it this way:

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:46‬ ‭NKJV

In our portion from Psalms today we see that David, while lavishing praise on the Lord for delivering him from his enemies, acknowledges that the act of praising Him is the NECESSARY response to His goodness.

Further, David—in light of the Lord‘s goodness, tender mercies, and care—wanted to be obedient to the word of his dear Shepherd:

“Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered. Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.””

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭40:5-8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

While David here speaks in the place of the Messiah, he also speaks from the desire of his own heart.

God is awesome, majestic, mighty, powerful…words alone cannot convey all that He is. Who can measure the height of His glory, the depth of His goodness, or the breadth of His power? And—with all that He is—He is also a good, good, Father, blessing us richly from His hand. Can we do anything less than praise, honor, and obey Him?

For today let us know and understand what David knew:

We should never bite the Hand that feeds us.

#100dayswithdavid