Psalm 20
1 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! 3 May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah
4 May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans! 5 May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!
6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. 7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 8 They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.
9 O Lord, save the king! May he answer us when we call.
In a hurting world, where can I put my trust?
It doesn’t take a long look at the news to realize that our world is in pain. The last two years saw fear, illness, racial tension, controversy, and war. The constant negative news stories have wreaked havoc on my emotions.
In a sea of uncertainty, we look for something, anything, for reassurance that we will be ok. I see people trusting in money, politicians, vaccines, the news, protesters, immune systems, activists, the military, job security, etc. The list goes on.
I ask myself, “Where am I putting my trust?”
Putting our trust in things other than God is nothing new. As King David observed in Psalm 20,
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 8 They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.
Anything in this world that tempts our trust is temporary. Circumstances change, people make mistakes, and money can run out. We need to put our hope in something, or someone, who will never change.
That someone is Jesus. He is the only one worthy of our complete, unlimited trust. Amid negative news stories and our ever-changing circumstances, He is our constant.
“On Christ, the solid rock, I stand! All other ground is sinking sand.”
REFLECTION: How can I remind myself to place my trust in Jesus when I hear negative news stories?
LYRICS
The Solid Rock
By Edward Mote
Verse 1:
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
Verse 2:
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
Verse 3:
His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
Verse 4:
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.