December 17, 2024 -- Psalm 59:16-17 -- When trials come, and oh boy, they will...

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But I will sing of your strength;
    I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
    and a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
    for you, O God, are my fortress,
    the God who shows me steadfast love.
Psalm 59:16-17 ESV
 
The word but is a coordinating conjunction. It is a word that signals there is a contrast in what follows from what was presented before it. The previous verses spelled out the trials of the man of God who was faced with many enemies. These enemies hated him because of his love and devotion to the LORD of Hosts—that is, the God Who is in charge of heaven and earth and angel armies.
 
Trials are common to all people. Pouring rain on your wedding day. Missing connecting flight and getting stranded at an airport. A postal strike that delays the cheque you were expecting so that you can’t afford something you need. The Psalmist is leading the child of God in the proper response to the trials of life. It is what Step 7 confesses: “I humbly ask God to place healthy character qualities in me” (Overcomers Workbook, page 123).
 
Rather than venting his anger and expressing fury, the Psalmist turns to God. He chooses to sing to God, in fact the phrase “I will sing” is repeated and made emphatic “I will sing aloud”. In effect he is asking God to let the voice of praise to drown out the discontent and frustration which might lead to sin. God is the fortress of His people. Though the enemies rage and the troubles of life pelt the walls of this refuge, His people are safe within His protection.
 
The promise is confirmed in Jesus Christ, “I know My Own and My Own know Me” (John 10:14a). A little bit later Jesus notes He gives His followers eternal life, and His Father has given these people to Jesus. No one and nothing can snatch the people of God from the Father’s hand (cf: John 10:27-30).
 
A few lessons can be drawn from this.

  • Trials are common to all people. God-haters and God-lovers will both alike have trials in their lives.

  • Christians realize these common-to-all-people trials are used by God the Father to draw His people closer to Himself.

  • How you handle such trials might lead others to see the impact Jesus has on your life. So the potentially frustrating trial become instead a point for witness to the goodness of God.

  • Trials open your heart to God the Father. When trials come, and they will come, you cry out to God, asking Him to refine your character and by His Spirit give you all you need to endure them and become more like Jesus.

 
Teach me, Father in heaven, to receive and implement in my life
the teaching of the psalmist, so that in every trial I would cry out:
But I will sing of your strength;
    I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
    and a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
    for you, O God, are my fortress,
    the God who shows me steadfast love. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/DV-V4xZMQx0?si=2RgzQ7iorA987RjC Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
 
 

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