A thousand years before Jesus’s
birth, David penned Psalm 18 in response to God’s deliverance from Saul and
other enemies. A week ago, I opened to that Psalm as the scheduled reading for
the day in a yearlong Bible reading plan. It seems written
for this exact moment in history, which speaks to the transcendent power of God’s
word.
Every day since,
I have turned to it as a prayer for a people under siege in Ukraine.
I share a
few verses here:
2. The Lord
is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take
refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
6. In my
distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple he
heard my voice . . .
14. He shot
his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed
them.
18-19. They
confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He
brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
29.With
your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.
32. It is
God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.
33. He
makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.
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35. You
make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has
made me great.
40. You
made my enemies turn their backs in flight . . .
These words
winging their way to us from three thousand years ago echo with the message
that the apostle Paul wrote to the Hebrews, which the amplified version renders,
“The word of God is living and active and full of power . . . “(Hebrews 4:12). When
we pray His word, we come to know God and His will in a greater way. Through the
ages, many have found comfort, strength, and direction in doing so.
Though these expressions are to use a cliché' as "old as the
hills," they matter immensely because their power is unchanged and up to the
minute. David offered them in gratitude for what God had done, but I'm reminded thanksgiving often precedes the miracle, so perhaps we could offer them in faith for what God will do. Only God knows the full extent of what He may accomplish.
In these days, let’s not forget to use our sword of the spirit (Ephesians
6:17).
Friends,
continuing in prayer with you for Ukraine.
Beverly Varnado is the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. A memoir, Faith in the Fashion District, from Crosslink Publishing is also available as well as her other books, Give My Love to the Chestnut Trees and Home to Currahee. She also has an Etsy Shop, Beverly Varnado Art.
To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.com
Beverly Varnado copyright 2022