After God's Heart

Listen to this:

Do not drag me away with the wicked,
    with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
    but harbor malice in their hearts. 

 Repay them for their deeds
    and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done
    and bring back on them what they deserve.

Psalm 28: 3-4 

That sounds like someone who is struggling with despair, hopelessness, and desire for revenge. But now, listen to this:

 

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
    and with my song I praise him. 

                       Psalm 28:7

That sounds like someone who has life all figured out; calm, content, faithful...Doesn't it?

Hard to believe they are written by the same guy and in the same psalm! David, the Psalmist, is so real. I can relate to David. He makes no pretense of his faltering efforts to withstand the attacks of his enemies in the battles of life. He openly describes his anguish, and his less than noble feelings in response. But then, BUT THEN, he transforms within a few short verses. He yo-yos from despair to victory as he looks to God for His strength and support. 

This doesn't just happen once, and then he abides in the sure-footed assurances of God. In subsequent psalms, he again plummets into despair. Just two psalms later, after his proclamation of the strength of God and his joyfully leaping heart, listen to his words:

When I felt secure, I said,
    “I will never be shaken.”
⁷ Lord, when you favored me,
    you made my royal mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
    I was dismayed.

To you, Lord, I called;
    to the Lord I cried for mercy:
⁹ “What is gained if I am silenced,
    if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
    Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;
    Lord, be my help.”

Poor guy - shaken, dismayed, feeling abandoned, crying to God wondering why God is silent. But then, he lifts his tear-stained face, again, and sees God. Everything changes, again.

You turned my wailing into dancing;
    you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
¹² that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
    Lord my God, I will praise you forever.  

I have felt so weak in how often I plummet back into despair, despite knowing the power of God. Why can't I hang on to those feelings of peace, calm, and victory? I don't know. I wish I could. But David is a comfort to me, because he seems to experience the same troughs and crests as I do. And God called him a "man after my own heart."

Acts 13:22

After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'