Psalm 55

When you encounter tough times in your life, do you ever say in your heart, "God why don't you sit back this time, I can handle this problem"? Most of us will answer this question with a hearty, "No." But don't our actions often betray our intentions? In fact we usually don't even realize that we have not been trusting in God until we are in over our heads. It's sad that even after God has rescued and cared for us so many times, we are still quick to forget to go to Him with every need. In my mind, David was much more balanced (even though we see occassions where he was not depending on God; Psalm 51). He seems to grasp the hopelessness of his own situation before his enemies and before a Holy God who judges. David often admits that his enemies are too powerful for him, and by taking these burdens to God in humble prayer, it becomes worship. This is what David is doing in Psalm 55.
One of the things we should take from Psalm 55 is to realize the hopeless situation that we are in. Now this might sound like really bad news, and it is. Unless of course you know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who miraculously delivered His people from Egypt, and prospered and preserved His chosen people Israel and fulfilled His promise to them through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ so that all who believe in Him will be saved. If you know this God, it is a wonderful thing to realize how insufficient you are because you know the one who is self-sufficient. And you can take all of your burdens and frustrations to Him because He listens to his children. God will remind us one way or another, through wonderful and tragic circumstances, of how great He is. But we can rest assured that it is for our good.
Ray