Today's Passage: Psalm 69

As I read this beautifully Psalm I couldn't help but imagine what it sounded like being sung in it's original language.  It is striking to me how David blends the two feelings of hopeless defeat and eternal joy in this Psalm. 

We all have had the feeling of hopelessness at some point in our lives.  In fact we might have felt, as David described, as if our enemies were as many as the hairs on our head.  What I think David wanted to communicate through this Psalm is that even though we face times when we are not surrounded by the conditions that we wish, we still have a perfect, loving God that is there with us.

Choosing to live for God is far from easy.  We are held to a higher standard, we are called to do things that the rest of the world thinks is ridiculous and because of these things we are destined to face some form of loss. That loss may be friends, popularity, money, family, respect, authority or even all of the above.  The promise however is our purpose. The promise of eternal life and a joy that nothing in this world can take away from us.

Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,
for God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.

Then people will settle there and possess it,
the children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell in it.

What a promise and what an amazing God we serve!