Something to Praise Him For!
We’re still looking at Psalm 27. It continues with the Psalmist looking at some of the reasons why he is so eager to praise the Lord:
In his shelter in the day of trouble, that’s where you’ll find me,
for he hides me there in his holiness.
He has smuggled me into his secret place,
where I’m kept safe and secure—
out of reach from all my enemies.
Triumphant now, I’ll bring him my offerings of praise,
singing and shouting with ecstatic joy!
Yes, listen and you can hear
the fanfare of my shouts of praise to the Lord!
7 God, hear my cry. Show me your grace.
Show me mercy, and send the help I need!
8 Lord, when you said to me, "Seek my face,"
my inner being responded,
"I’m seeking your face with all my heart."
9 So don’t hide yourself, Lord, when I come to find you.
You’re the God of my salvation;
how can you reject your servant in anger?
You’ve been my only hope,
so don’t forsake me now when I need you!
10 My father and mother abandoned me. I’m like an orphan!
But you took me in and made me yours. Psalm 27:5-10 ( TPT)
If you have ever felt threatened by danger, or even just had a bully out to get you, you probably took comfort and got excited when there was someone who provided refuge for you. To think that God "smuggles us in His secret place" where no one can get to us – that is something to offer HIM PRAISE FOR!
In "The Hiding Place", Corrie Ten Boom talks off how God shielded her from the security officers that surrounded her at the Concentration Camp. She and her Bible were protected over and over again during the long months she was in prison and then at the Nazi camp. To think her prayer was something like David’s, "show me mercy and send the help I need". Once when God sent help it was in the form of bugs – the security didn’t want to enter their barracks for the infestation of bugs!
Whether you have experienced degrading circumstances, or just needed help with an important exam, God has reflected Himself some way as your "hope". When all seemed to forsake you, God was there. When you felt all alone in your struggle, God took you up and made you His! That is certainly something to praise God for!
Maria