In Hills and Valleys, I Sing Praises to Your Name | Keep Your Focus (Psalm 53-59)
Ask yourself, will I sing praises to your name even when I’m scared for my life? David had his faults, but he definitely is one of the greatest teachers for us in praising God in the hills and valleys. He had a trained heart and mind for keeping his focus on the bigger picture.
According to a Lifeway poll in 2017, the average household has three Bibles. Go through your house and count them all up: kid Bibles, adult Bibles, study Bibles, journaling Bibles etc.
Do the number of Bibles in your home directly correlate to your frequency in reading it?
“Overall, Americans seem to like the Bible but don’t have much urgency about reading it, said McConnell.”
Lifeway Research
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What David focuses on…
God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
Psalm 53:2
The Bible is a gift! One of the reasons it is a gift is because we can learn from ‘the heroes of the faith’ because they lived out their life and it was recorded to point to God but also for our benefit.
David reminds us here that God desires a relationship with us. He wants us to want Him, to seek Him. What kind of relationship is it when it is merely one-sided? That isn’t a relationship.
His feelings…
David acknowledged his feelings many times in the Psalms he wrote. What you will see he did in the Psalms is that he wrote about his feelings with regard to God. In other words, his feelings took a backseat to the power and comfort of God. It was always God first, and his feelings in relation to Him.
He was scared, angry, and hurt at different times while traversing through his hills and valleys. Yet, he did not write his experiences as a ‘woe is me’ author; he faced his situations while focusing on how God met him in those feelings.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
Psalm 56:3-4
Real life…
It helps to remember that David was a real man with real feelings, faults, thoughts, praises, life experiences, etc. When reading through his Psalms, try to take note of the situations he faced while penning these nuggets.
In Psalm 54, the Ziphites sold him out to Saul when he was hiding among them. Or how about Psalm 56, when the Philistines had seized him in Gath. This was when he pretended to be insane in their presence while fleeing Saul. Again in Psalms 57 and 59, Saul is chasing David to kill him.
However, look what those all brought about, beautiful prayers that can teach us how to: pray for all situations, pray for our enemies, and praise God. Are you at the same point as David, and can say “I sing praises to Your name” no matter my circumstances?
Keep your focus…
Even amidst his trials, David sought to exalt God, give Him glory, and praise Him because His heart was aligned with God.
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
Psalm 57:7-11
Let it be the same for us, to be able to say I sing praises to Your name in the hills and valleys!
What solidifies this reaction…
Most people in first world nations have easy access to a Bible. Yet, having something is not the same as valuing it or knowing it. To seek the Lord is to desire to be in relationship with Him.
This is not a passive faith, you will not coast into Heaven on Sunday sermons or kind thoughts. Click To TweetThis is not a passive faith, you will not coast into Heaven on Sunday sermons or kind thoughts. Study the Bible, learn from those who walked in shoes (likely) tougher than yours, replicate their obedience and faith in your own life and strive for better!
I’ll leave with the results of the study for you to ponder for yourself. Take a serious evaluation of your own Christian walk. Are you digging into the Word during your hills and valleys? Is the Bible solidifying your steadfast spirit to be aligned with His no matter your circumstances? Or are you neglecting God and His gift to you? Are you passive about your Bible-reading, maybe you think Sunday is enough? Or are you seeking to know Him better?
Apathy…
Are you apathetic in your Bible reading or do you value it and cherish it? Be honest with yourself so if you are found to be lacking, you can truly work toward a right relationship with Him moving forward! Click To TweetTo be apathetic is “to have or show little or no emotion; to not be interested or concerned; indifferent or unresponsive.” Are you apathetic in your Bible reading or do you value it and cherish it? Be honest with yourself so if you are found to be lacking, you can truly work toward a right relationship with Him moving forward!
I pray it is said of you that although it is easy to make other priorities, that you never allow life to get in the way of running the race toward eternal Life with Him.
Last Week
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We live in such a busy, noisy world. Keeping our focus on Him can be such a challenge. Thanks for the excellent reminder.
Praying my way through the psalms this summer, I am astonished at the range of emotions, and even so, there’s a way to God’s ear ad his heart in it all.