2 Samuel 22:31
"... [God] is a
shield to all that trust in him."
Years
ago when my father was still alive, our family traveled from
Pennsylvania to visit our relatives here in Rome. As we walked around
the farm property where my dad grew up, he described just where
everything (pastures, orchards, fields, and buildings) used to be.
When
we came upon the still functioning well, he said that this was the
third well that he, as a youngster, had helped his dad to dig. As the
evacuation got deeper and deeper, his dad lowered him into the pit by
a rope. He would dig and then put loosened soil into a container tied
to the rope. His dad would pull up the container and dump the soil.
At appropriate times, his dad also would raise him by that same rope.
When
asked about the danger involved, my dad smiled and gave a simple
answer. "I trusted my dad!"
In
this verse, David is summing up a lifetime of experiencing God's
grace. God is David's redeemer. Although so much about Christian
discipleship is rewarding and joyful, nothing is easy. Trials are
always difficult as we experience them. But, later they bring fresh
appreciation of the goodness of our God.
Through
the greatest and the least of us, God works to bring about God's
purpose on earth. We are required to take delight in God's grace
already present in our midst. We,
like David, experience moments when we fall short of what God
expects. But, we also, like David, should never put ourselves outside
of the reach of God's grace and forgiveness.
Lord, in the midst of
today's political and social clamor, may we hear David's message of
encouragement, rise above worldly distractions, and put our trust in
you. Amen.
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