From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. – Psalm 3:8

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 21, 2013): Psalm 3

Maybe one of the most basic questions of life is what is the basis for my expectations of what it is that is yet to come? It is actually the bottom rung of Norman DeJong’s Philosophical ladder. The question that begins DeJong’s ladder (and for DeJong each step of the ladder must be taken in order) is simply what is the basis on which all thinking or knowing rests? Too often, the problems of our lives start with the fact that we have never settled that question. In the church, we often seem to have a non-biblical foundation on which we are trying to build a Christian edifice. But, it does not take long to figure out that our strategy is doomed to failure. Because of the way we have built our foundation, our Christian ideal’s fall quickly away and we end up discarding the faith.

So the question returns – what is the basis for our expectations. And all through the Psalms David is struggling with that question. What is the basis for my expectations? As his son, Absalom rebels against him, the question returns. David understood that if the basis for his expectations was found only in his own ability, he might be in trouble. And if the basis for his expectations was found in his past behavior, then he was definitely in trouble. But David consistently returns to the idea that his expectations are based on God. It was God that had lifted him up from the shepherd’s field to the palace of the king. And God, as evidenced by his dealings with Saul, could just as quickly demote him. His end was based on God. If deliverance was going to come, the only place that it could come from was the basis of his expectations and his faith – God.

So David’s prayer was for God’s blessing, because that was the basis of his understanding -everything came from God. If God blessed his people, then everything would happen according to his plan – and that would 

always be good.

Maybe it is significant that this Psalm is written in the midst of one of the most stressful periods of David’s life. There is maybe not a more troubling time than when you have to deal with the rebellion of a child. And yet, even in this moment in time, David understood from his established base that his deliverance had to come from God. And blessing on his own life, the life of his son and the life of the people under his influence, had to be from God. So, if that is also your understanding, then may God’s blessing also be on you, your family, and your ministry.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 69

Personal Note to Steven: We really miss you.