“Now you are the body of Christ,
and each one of you is a part of it”
I Corinthians 12:27
Your Faithfulness Reaches to the Skies
May 1, 2020 by Matthew Spoelstra
During these days of self-isolation, I keep finding myself thinking about that story in the Bible where David is isolated because he is hiding from Saul. From the time David was anointed king until Saul’s death, David spends a lot of his time hiding. David is not safe to move freely in the land of Israel. Moving about could greatly endanger his life.
There is one point (that you can read about in 1 Samuel 24) where David and the men with him are hiding in a cave and Saul himself comes into the entrance of the cave. Talk about the enemy at your doorstep.
I Samuel 24:1-2
“After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.”
David is the author of many of the Psalms in the Bible. He wrote Psalm 57 as a reflection on this experience with Saul and his army. In Psalm 57, we are granted a rare look at the inner thoughts of David.
Of course, in his distress, David calls out to God for mercy and rescue, something we also wish for today.
Psalm 57:1
Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.
Read the rest of 1 Samuel 24 to find out the surprising way that God spared David and his men.
David continues in Psalm 57 to write:
“I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.”
David combines a cry for rescue with a song of praise.
Prayer
Today, for our prayer, open up your Bible to Psalm 57 and pray along with David.
Use David’s words to ask God to protect and to rescue.
And use David’s song to praise God for his love and faithfulness that never ends.