In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? – Psalm 56:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 17, 2012): Psalm 56

One of the biggest decisions that we all have to make is to decide what it is that is really important to us. But the unfortunate truth is that most of us never make that decision. What is important simply evolves out of the activity of our life. But that is a dangerous way to decide what is important because it leaves the decision either to chance or to the people around us.

Often the realization of what is important emerges out of times of extreme emotion. It is the Scrooge Syndrome, after a visit from a dead friend and three ghosts we finally filter out the unimportant things and find what is really important.  But sometimes the Scrooge syndrome can also work in reverse. After living through the poverty of the Great Depression, many people seemed to have a struggle with leaving the importance of material possessions behind. It was an event that seemed to create many Scrooge type characters with a sad dependence on the things of this life.

David is struggling with what is important. When he was young, the answer to the question seemed easy. It was the sheep. And he had an almost natural and definitely naïve dependence on God. But recently the voices had multiplied. Now he had a kingdom that might be laying on the horizon that was important to him. He had friends and colleagues that had gathered around him that were very important. David’s own life, now threatened, was also important. But in the midst of all of the trials, David begins to realize that whatever happens to him, what is important had never changed from his naïve childhood. It was still God. And as long as God was what was important, then there was nothing that man could do to change that. What God had set in motion, no man could change or endanger.

Centuries later Paul would concur with David as he wrote “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) But the answer to both David’s and Paul’s question hinges on what it is that we have decided is important. If we are going to place our trust in the things of this world, than the world itself will be a danger to us. But if our trust is in God, then man will not be able to stand in our way.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 22:1-2 & Psalm 57