In this short Psalm of just 8 verses, David, who penned these words, found himself in difficult circumstances. David’s situation in this Psalm is most likely when he was on the run from his son Absalom who was out to overthrow David and be king. David, called a man after God’s own heart, found both joy and peace in the midst of trying times. Do we?
As we take a closer look at Psalm 4, we find that these elusive twins of joy and peace can be ours, too. In verse 1, David calls out to God and asks for relief from his distress. His cry for help was based, not on his own righteousness, but on God’s. He calls God “righteous” as he implores God for His assistance, appealing to God’s goodness and holiness. David asks for mercy and for God to hear his prayer. When we are going through rough times, do we call out to God based on His character or do we believe we’re somehow entitled to God’s aid based on ours? When we humble ourselves before God, asking for mercy based on His righteousness, He will hear our cries.
Part of that humbling process is found in verses 4 and 5 which says “search your hearts and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.” Do we take the time to “search our hearts”? Do we spend quiet moments contemplating our wrong attitudes and selfish behaviors? When we confess these to God and believe in the sacrifice of Christ who nailed our sins to the cross, we can trust God to be with us, to hear our prayers, and to take care of our needs. The result is greater joy and peace than we have known before. Our hearts, like David’s, can be filled with inexplicable joy, even in the middle of life’s difficulties. We can rejoice in the everyday, like spring flowers or a beautiful sunset, as part of His incredible creation. We can rejoice in the profound, like knowing God, trusting that He is faithful and good, and that He will work out the most complicated and overwhelming circumstances for our good. We can experience peace and freedom from anxiety, knowing “God’s got this” and we don’t have to. As verse 8 says, sleep doesn’t have to elude us when we find both joy and peace in Him.
LORD, You alone are righteous. Fill my heart with great joy and peace in knowing You hear my prayers and provide help in my time of need. Thank you for your mercy and faithfulness to me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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Copyright © 2016 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.