WEBVTT - 480 Praying Through Psalms 63: When God Says "Leave!" 0:00:02.720 --> 0:00:07.480 Life Audio. Hi there, and welcome to another Prayer through 0:00:07.520 --> 0:00:11.200 the Psalms episode of the Praying Christian Women podcast. I'm 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:14.640 Jamie Hampton, and I am really excited today to get 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:17.960 to talk about and pray through Psalm sixty three. So 0:00:18.160 --> 0:00:20.720 before we actually read the psalm and get into our 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:23.919 prayer time and our devotion, I want to give you 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:26.600 a little bit of background, because this is really fun 0:00:26.800 --> 0:00:30.040 that this Psalm gives us a footnote with some extra 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:33.760 scriptures that give us a background into what David's mindset 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:36.880 was and what his situation was when he wrote this psalm. 0:00:37.600 --> 0:00:40.520 This is Psalm sixty three. It's called the Thirsting Soul 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:43.839 Satisfied in God. It's a psalm of David when he 0:00:43.920 --> 0:00:46.320 was in the wilderness of Judah. And this little footnote 0:00:46.360 --> 0:00:49.080 that we get is First Samuel twenty two five and 0:00:49.200 --> 0:00:52.360 twenty three fourteen. So I want to go a little 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:57.000 bit further back First Samuel twenty two. I want to 0:00:57.040 --> 0:01:02.120 just kind of read the beginning in a nutshell. David 0:01:02.240 --> 0:01:05.520 was fleeing Saul. That was the theme of when we 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:09.120 get into First Samuel chapter twenty two. So David departed 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:12.680 from there and escaped to the cave of Agilam, and 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:15.440 when his brothers and all his father's household heard about it, 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:18.200 they went down there to him. Then everyone who was 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:21.760 in distress, and everyone who is in debt, and everyone 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:24.840 who was discontented gathered to him, and he became captain 0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:28.280 over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him. 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:32.520 So a few things are happening here. David is fleeing 0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:36.160 from Saul. He has found this nice little cave in Agilam, 0:01:36.959 --> 0:01:42.000 and it's called a stronghold. Caves were great places of 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:46.040 military strategy because usually they're up high in a mountain. 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:49.040 You have a great vantage point to look and see 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:52.960 when your enemies are coming. Typically you're surrounded on all 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:56.320 sides by rock. So unless they're coming through a mountain 0:01:56.320 --> 0:01:59.720 from the other side through corridors, which you know, more 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:01.880 power to them. If they go to that trouble, then 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:04.480 I guess they deserve to win. But other than that, 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:08.560 you basically are secure on all sides but one, and 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:13.760 so you can have a great strategic vantage point. And 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:19.880 David himself calls God a stronghold, and that can be 0:02:20.040 --> 0:02:22.560 this picture of being in the safe, secure cave on 0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:28.359 a high vantage point solid rock all around you. Then 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:31.720 he's got his family that came down to this strongholder, 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:34.560 came to this stronghold with him, who heard about him 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:39.480 fleeing there. And also this whole other group, everyone who 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:41.880 is in distress, everyone who is in debt, everyone who 0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:45.800 is discontented, gathered to him and he became captain over them, 0:02:45.840 --> 0:02:48.960 and there were about four hundred men. Later on, there 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:52.920 is a group of men that David kind of considers 0:02:52.919 --> 0:02:56.000 his inner circle, and they came from this core group 0:02:56.040 --> 0:03:00.840 of men that originally decided to follow him. Were guessing 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:04.040 if they were in debt, if they're discontented, if they're 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:08.240 in distress, that they're not enjoying Saul's leadership and the 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:12.399 way that he does things. So they're basically pledging their 0:03:12.960 --> 0:03:16.840 loyalty to David, and he became captain, which is a 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:20.960 military term, so he basically became their leader. He kind 0:03:21.000 --> 0:03:24.320 of had like a militia beginning to form, and it 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:28.560 wasn't small. So David went from there to Mispah of 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:31.040 Moab and he said to the King of Moab, please 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:32.920 let my father and mother come and stay with you 0:03:33.000 --> 0:03:35.680 until I know what God will do for me. So 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:38.360 he knew God would do something. He was a man 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:42.560 after God's own heart. God was his leader, his general, 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:45.640 so to speak. But he didn't know what his fate 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:47.920 would be, and so he wanted his parents to be safe, 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:50.800 so he tucks them away in Misbah, where the King 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:55.800 of Moab kept his parents safe. And presumably he goes 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:58.760 back to this stronghold with his band of brothers of 0:03:58.800 --> 0:04:02.360 these four hundred people, and it says that they stayed 0:04:02.400 --> 0:04:04.560 with that king until the whole time that David was 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:08.760 in the stronghold. But God, the prophet said to David, 0:04:08.800 --> 0:04:11.240 do not stay in the stronghold, leave and go into 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:13.960 the land of Judah. So David left and went into 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:17.800 the forest of Herath. And this is where we find 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:22.039 David writing Psalm sixty three, is when he is in 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:26.480 the wilderness, in the forest of Herath, after basically leaving 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:32.160 the ideal strategic military situation in this stronghold, surrounded by 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:35.760 a bunch of loyal men, his parents tucked away safely 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:38.320 with the King of Moab. But he did it because 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:43.080 God told him through this prophet God, to leave and 0:04:43.120 --> 0:04:47.560 to go into this unprotected land, into this forest where 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:50.920 he would be open to his enemies. He would be 0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:54.880 not safe like he would be in the stronghold, but 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:58.880 he chose to obey. So I just really want us 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:01.320 to kind of be in that mindset as we go 0:05:01.440 --> 0:05:05.479 into Psalm sixty three, because I don't know if you 0:05:05.520 --> 0:05:09.000 can relate or not, but I totally can living a 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:11.720 life where you feel secure, you feel like everything is good, 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:15.599 and then God throws you a curveball and he's like, Nope, 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:18.640 it's time to go somewhere else that's not as safe, 0:05:19.200 --> 0:05:23.200 that's not as secure. But what David knew, and what 0:05:23.320 --> 0:05:26.000 you and I know, at least in our brain, if 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:29.400 we can't always internalize it, is that we would rather 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:36.680 go to an unideal, less secure, more dangerous situation with 0:05:36.880 --> 0:05:41.640 God than to stay back in safety without him. And 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:57.400 that is what this psalm boils down to. All right, 0:05:57.480 --> 0:06:03.080 let's pray Father God. We just we just thank you 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:07.160 so much for being our general, for being the one 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:12.560 who leads us into whatever battle you choose for us 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:17.039 to go into next. And we know that when we 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:21.279 follow you, even if it's scary, even if it doesn't 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:24.200 make sense in a worldly sense, even if it's not logical, 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:28.600 even if it doesn't seem like the best strategic move 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:33.560 for the moment that when you lead us, that good 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:38.839 will come of it. And I just pray for those 0:06:38.920 --> 0:06:43.400 that are listening right now, who are being called out 0:06:43.440 --> 0:06:47.320 of the security of a stronghold that feels right and 0:06:47.440 --> 0:06:55.120 safe and logical into a forest that feels scary and 0:06:55.279 --> 0:07:03.280 open and vulnerable. Just give them the peace that transcends 0:07:03.320 --> 0:07:05.840 understanding to guard their hearts and their minds. In Christ, 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:12.120 Jesus Father, we want to hear from you clearly. We 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:16.160 don't want to miss your voice. We don't want to 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:21.040 go into things or rush into things recklessly or carelessly. 0:07:22.120 --> 0:07:24.320 We want to be good stewards of our lives and 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:26.600 of our finances, and of our family, and of the 0:07:26.680 --> 0:07:32.080 people and the things and the ministries and the gifts 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:36.360 in our care. But we don't want to miss your 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:41.400 best by playing it safe. And so we just come 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:48.000 before you begging you speak to us, Lord, like the 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:50.280 verse that says, whether you go to the right or 0:07:50.320 --> 0:07:52.440 to the left, you'll hear a voice behind you saying 0:07:52.440 --> 0:07:57.239 this is the way walk in it. We just pray 0:07:57.280 --> 0:08:05.080 for that voice, for that word, for that guidance, that 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:07.960 it would be clear, and thank you God that we 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:10.600 don't have to get it right every time we're in 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:13.760 a relationship with you, so we can keep asking. We 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:18.000 can keep asking for confirmation and clarity. And we know 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:21.880 that when we ask, you will be faithful to show us. 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:24.920 And we claim that and we stand on it in 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:31.160 Jesus name. Amen. Well, let's jump into Psalm sixty three. 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:34.160 We're reading as usual from the Nasby nineteen ninety five. 0:08:34.520 --> 0:08:36.960 And like I said, this is the thirsting soul satisfied 0:08:37.000 --> 0:08:38.880 in God, a psalm of David when he was in 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:42.720 the wilderness of Judah. Oh God, you are my God. 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:47.520 I shall seek you earnestly. My soul thirsts for you. 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:52.240 My flesh yearns for you in a dry and weary 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:55.839 land where there is no water. Thus I have seen 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:59.079 you in the sanctuary, to see your power and your glory. 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:04.000 Because your loving kindness is better than life. My lips 0:09:04.040 --> 0:09:07.439 will praise you, so I will bless you as long 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:10.280 as I live. I will lift up my hands in 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:15.160 your name. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, 0:09:15.760 --> 0:09:20.080 and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. When I 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:23.120 remember you on my bed, I meditate on you in 0:09:23.160 --> 0:09:26.840 the night, watches for you have been my help, and 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:29.400 in the shadow of your wings, I will sing for joy. 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:33.800 My soul clings to you. Your right hand upholds me. 0:09:34.800 --> 0:09:38.800 But those who seek my life to destroy it will 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:42.120 go into the depths of the earth. They will be 0:09:42.200 --> 0:09:45.200 delivered over to the power of the sword. They will 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:48.720 be a prey for foxes. But the King will rejoice 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:52.920 in God. Everyone who swears by him will glory, for 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:55.560 the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped. 0:10:00.160 --> 0:10:04.240 So here's David in the forest, in the wilderness. I'm 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:12.800 guessing that he is probably physically thirsty, physically tired, physically hungry, weary, 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:17.320 maybe even feeling a little hopeless. And as we know 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:21.400 with David, I hate saying fake it till you make it. 0:10:22.600 --> 0:10:26.200 But I feel like David speaks truth before he can 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:29.280 internalize it. Like I said, we can know things in 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:32.840 our mind and in our brain and not be on 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:35.440 board with it completely with our hearts and our feelings 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:39.640 and emotions. And what David does so many times is 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:45.040 he speaks truth before he actually is necessarily caught up 0:10:45.120 --> 0:10:48.440 with his heart and spirit and emotions. And I feel 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:51.360 like that's what he's saying. He's saying, I will seek 0:10:51.400 --> 0:10:56.000 you earnestly. I am thirsty in body, my soul thirst 0:10:56.120 --> 0:11:01.480 for you. I am hungry in byes. My flesh yearns 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:04.480 for you in a dry and weary land where there's 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:08.800 no water. I've seen you in the sanctuary, to see 0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:13.240 your power and glory. And he says, because your loving 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:16.640 kindness is better than life. And that word loving kindness, 0:11:17.840 --> 0:11:23.320 the original Hebrew word, is covenant language. It's not just oh, 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:26.480 you're being nice to someone or showing someone mercy. It 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:31.000 is your loving kindness that you have bound yourself to me. 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:35.840 A human, the creator of the universe has chosen to 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:41.760 adopt a human as his own. It's a permanence, it's 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:49.760 an agape love and also an all encompassing adoption and sonship. 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:54.880 And because that is better than life, my lips will 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.439 praise you. And I think David is saying, you know what, 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:01.840 even if all of this was for nothing, even if 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:04.000 I come out here and I starve to death, or 0:12:04.040 --> 0:12:07.079 I die of thirst, or I get eaten by jackals, 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:12.520 it's worth it because you're here and that cave might 0:12:12.520 --> 0:12:16.240 have been safer, but you weren't there. And so even 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:21.080 if I die, your loving kindness being bound to you, 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:26.360 being a bond servant to you, Lord, It's better than life, 0:12:28.760 --> 0:12:33.400 and death doesn't scare me when you're with me. I 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:38.040 love this, he says. When I remember you on my bed, 0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:42.160 I meditate on you in the night watches, for you 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:44.920 have been my help. And in the shadow of your wings, 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:47.800 I sing for joy. My soul clings to you. Your 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:52.080 right hand upholds me. So as David goes to sleep 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:57.360 in this scary wilderness, he's probably needing to be watchful 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:02.920 for predators, for enemy, for bandits, for robbers, and so 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:08.640 he meditates on God during the night watches, where presumably 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:13.320 it's scary. I'm guessing, but God has been his help 0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:16.840 And I love this picture. We've talked about it before. 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:20.439 In the shadow of your wings, I sing for joy. 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:25.839 Think of that picture. You cannot sing for joy. If 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:29.760 you're being hypervigilant. You can sing, you know, Like I 0:13:29.800 --> 0:13:32.840 remember when we would go hiking in the Alaskan wilderness. 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:37.760 We would sing sometimes or whistle or do something because 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:41.439 we wanted to make ourselves known to any bears, because 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:44.480 bears don't really want to come across humans typically, but 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:46.640 if you sneak up on them, they might just eat 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:51.200 you or maul you if you scare them, especially if 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:53.959 they have babies. So we wanted to be singing or 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:58.600 talking loud, or have bear bells, although some people call 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:02.440 bear bells dinner bells. But you wanted to have something 0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:04.400 to let them know you're there, because the bears would 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:06.600 not necessarily want to be there. But so you could 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:10.199 be singing and still be vigilant, but singing for joy, 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:13.480 Like I kind of have you ever just been singing 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:15.600 a praise song and just you kind of get lost 0:14:15.640 --> 0:14:18.880 in it. When you're singing for joy, your attention's all 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:23.760 on God. And David says, and I wonder if he 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:26.440 sang for joy out there in the wilderness, knowing that 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:28.800 he was musical, knowing that he did sing and play 0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:32.000 the lyre in different instruments. But he said, in the 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:34.520 shadow of your wings, I sing for joy, whether it's 0:14:34.560 --> 0:14:40.800 metaphorical or actually practical. When he feels held by God 0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:45.600 in a protective sense, in the shadow of his wings 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:48.920 where nothing can get to him, then you have that 0:14:49.040 --> 0:14:53.600 freedom to sing for joy. So going back to our 0:14:53.640 --> 0:14:56.240 example of is God calling you out of a place 0:14:57.240 --> 0:15:01.160 of safety into a place that feels more vulnerable, that 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:06.640 feels more dangerous, that feels more uncertain. I just I 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:11.000 want a picture for me, that imagery of I want 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:13.920 to get to the place where I feel so held 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:17.120 in God's perfect will for my life, that I have 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:20.560 the freedom to sing, that I don't have to be 0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:24.760 hypervigilant or scared, and then no matter what chaos is 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:28.920 going around going on around me, that I can be 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:34.080 kind of in that holy cocoon of God's wings sheltering 0:15:34.120 --> 0:15:40.760 me and giving me the freedom to absolutely sing for joy. 0:15:41.720 --> 0:15:48.600 Let's pray, Father, God, we praise you for being bigger 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:55.800 than anything we could ever imagine. There is no problem, 0:15:56.960 --> 0:16:03.880 there is no enemy, there's no hurdle, there's no barrier, 0:16:05.120 --> 0:16:08.120 nothing that can stand in the way of us and 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:12.640 the perfect plans that you have for our lives. There 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:16.120 is no safer place than being right in the middle 0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:20.360 of your will for us. And it doesn't mean that 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:25.600 we will necessarily have the privilege of being physically safe 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:28.960 or even to keep our lives. There are plenty of 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:32.120 people who lose their lives in the service of the king. 0:16:34.880 --> 0:16:42.200 But as David said, you are far greater. You are 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:47.760 far better than the safety that has afforded us apart 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:52.160 from you. So even if we step into danger, even 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:57.040 if things that we wish hadn't happened to us, we 0:16:57.120 --> 0:17:00.520 know that you are there with us, and that you 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:06.640 are accomplishing good in us and through us. So Lord, 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:11.560 we again just ask for your words, your instruction, your 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:15.080 direction to be louder than any of the other stuff 0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:20.280 around us. Please diminish and quiet all of those other 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:24.560 things so that your voice would be clear. Just attune 0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:27.040 our ears to the frequency of your voice and your 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:33.159 voice alone. And I just pray Lord that whatever it 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:37.280 is that you're calling us into, or have called us into, 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:42.800 that you would remove fear. You've not given us a 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:45.280 spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and of 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:50.240 love and of a sound mind. All fear does is 0:17:51.680 --> 0:17:55.960 paralyze us and keep us from the abundant life that 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:59.879 you have planned for us. So help us to live 0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:06.359 in freedom and enjoy that we could sing songs of joy, Lord, 0:18:07.680 --> 0:18:11.840 and embrace what you have for us. Next and where 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:15.280 you have called us, you will also equip us and 0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:18.720 protect us to be able to accomplish those things that 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:27.080 you have for us. Lord, Amen, we'd like to take 0:18:27.160 --> 0:18:29.000 just a quick second to thank the team at Life 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:32.239 Audio for their partnership with us on the podcast. If 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:35.080 you go to lifeaudio dot com you will find dozens 0:18:35.080 --> 0:18:37.880 of other faith centered podcasts in their network. They've got 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:41.600 shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and so much more. 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:47.200 That's lifeaudio dot com.