The Psalms are beautiful outreaches to God about where we are in our journey. Sometimes it’s celebratory and rejoicing. Sometimes it’s full of angst and anxiety. Sometimes it’s moments of outright anger and frustration. When you read through the Psalms, you see the spectrum of human emotions.
I know I’ve had moments when life seemed chaotic. There have been moments when you are asking, “Why God?” There have been moments of sudden loss when a family member is here one day, gone the next. There have been moments of financial ruin. There have been moments when a relationship fell apart and seemed irreparable. There have been moments when we’ve all had health scares.
In Psalms 16, David reminds us that when our life is overwhelming, keep a proper perspective with God and take it to God in prayer. See, prayer is not about getting what you want but getting closer to the one you need.
David reminds us in Psalms 16 to take our complaints to God and a small accountability group. Keep silent in front of non-believers because you don’t want to distort their view of an almighty God. See, others can tell how authentic your faith is when troubles come your way. We should not broadcast to the world what needs to be laid before God.
David also reminds us to keep everything in the right perspective. Life is short…too short to be consumed with trivial issues. I mean, we worry about dumb things: price of gas, price of eggs, things not organized in the workplace like we want them to be, the songs we sing on Sunday, etc. But David reminds us that life is short so lean into the important things.
David has an incredible hope in God. David says that he doesn’t trust anything of this world but his hope is only in God. He trusts God for his life and any plans he makes. He knows that whatever the situation, God’s plan is better than anything he could have discovered. We do get distracted at times trying to find out if God is doing this thing to me, or is it Satan trying to distract me or is it the natural consequence of my actions. I don’t know what it might be in your story but I do know as people who follow Jesus, we are called to be faithful.
David closes this Psalm with a prayer. He recognizes he’s just a traveler passing through this earth. His home is in heaven. I think David is saying, “God, remove this issue from me because I know my time is short here on earth and I want to spend the rest of my days living for your glory.”
So, what could you pray for God to do in your life right now that has eternal implications? Know that God loves you and he knows you…you wants the very best for you. Live like life is short and give God the glory in the process. Blessings on your journey.