Do you ever feel chased, pursued, pestered, persecuted? Well, you are not alone. David, the writer of many psalms, the anointed of God, did. He knew he was God's chosen king; yet a demented man, Saul, the ruling King of Israel, was constantly pursuing him. Why was God allowing it? David didn't know the answer to that, but he did know that God was on his side, to protect him. More than once David had a chance to "help himself" by getting rid of King Saul, yet he didn't. Can you imagine how discouraged he must have gotten, not knowing from one day to the next if Saul would find him? At times he must have forgotten that God would not allow him to be harmed. I am sure that on many occasions he called out to God in desperation: Oh Lord, Hear Me Pray It was during these times of stress that he wrote:
Psalm 55
(bits and pieces)
A Psalm of David.
Give ear to my prayer, O God;
hide not thyself from my supplication.
Attend unto me, and hear me:
because of the voice of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked.
My heart is sore pained within me:
and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove!
For then would I fly away, and be at rest.
Lo, then would I wander far off,
and remain in the wilderness.
For it was not an enemy that reproached me;
then I could have borne it:
neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me;
then I would have hid myself from him:
Cast thy burden upon the LORD,
and he shall sustain thee:
he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
I will trust in thee.
Imagine! If he had not had those experiences, we would not have had this wonderful Psalms to comfort us. God always has a purpose for trials in our lives. Sometimes it may be just so that we will be able to help someone else at a later date. So take heart. God will see you through the dark times in your life. He will be right there beside you in those damp, cold scary caves of life, just as He was with David.
© Helen Dowd