“My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations. For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth”. PSALM 57:7-11
Do you find there are times in life when you feel that you are crippled with indecision. You know that you need to make a choice but out of fear or confusion you just can’t seem to have the courage to call it either one way or the other. This feeling of being in limbo can be very unsettling and it is not actually what the Lord desires for us. The Lord is our shepherd and as such he is our guide. He wants us to trust him and to be led by him, even when we don’t understand exactly how it is all going to work out or where precisely we are heading.
Look at David’s life. He had an incredible promise from the Lord that he would be King. He had been anointed by Samuel the prophet and yet everything in his life appeared to be going in the opposite direction. And yet David managed to put his faith and trust in the Lord despite what he was experiencing. “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.” David spoke these words during the time that Saul was trying to hunt him down and kill him. It’s often easy to say we love the Lord and we will follow him all our days and surrender to his ways when all is going well. It’s another thing to be praising God when you are running for your life. But this was the key to David’s success. This was why the Lord was able to promote him and trust him to lead the nation and become King. David was not swayed by his circumstances. He had decided in his heart whom he would serve and he remained faithful.
If we examine the word “fixed” we find that the original word is KUWN which means “prepared, fixed, firmly in position, not subject to change or variation” The point of something that is fixed is that it is set in place before it is needed. Think of abseilers coming down a mountain. They fix a knot in a rope before they put any weight on the cord. They wouldn’t think of trying to tie a knot as they are careering off the edge of the slope. They ensure everything is firmly fastened then they can have confidence that as pressure is applied the cord will hold as the knot is securely in place. This is true of us as we journey through life and navigate our way over obstacles and hurdles that stand in front of us. We need to set our hearts on a course of action before something happens – then we will not fall away. We are often really good at reactionary praying but the Lord wants to encourage us to have our hearts set on Him at all times so that we are prepared for every and any situation. Unless you set your heart on a course of action you will drift.
Today make sure that your eyes are firmly fixed on the Lord. Let your heart be filled with His word. Build your foundations in his love and goodness towards you. When you do, you will be ready to, “walk through the valley of baca (Weeping) and it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.” ( Psalm 84:6)
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Unshakeable Hope Series – Exchange Church Belfast 2021