Like the Feet of a Deer

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:

30      As for God, his way is perfect:

    The LORD's word is flawless;

    he shields all who take refuge in him.

31      For who is God besides the Lord?

    And who is the Rock except our God?

32      It is God who arms me with strength

    and makes my way secure.

33      He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;

    he causes me to stand on the heights.

34      He trains my hands for battle;

    my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35      You make your saving help my shield,

    and your right hand sustains me;

    your help has made me great.

36      You provide a broad path for my feet,

    so that my ankles do not give way.

37      I pursued my enemies and overtook them;

    I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

38      I crushed them so that they could not rise;

    they fell beneath my feet.

39      You armed me with strength for battle;

    you humbled my adversaries before me.

40      You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,

    and I destroyed my foes.

41      They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—

    to the LORD, but he did not answer.

42      I beat them as fine as windblown dust;

    I trampled them like mud in the streets.

43      You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;

    you have made me the head of nations.

People I did not know now serve me,
44         foreigners cower before me;

    as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.

45      They all lose heart;

    they come trembling from their strongholds.

46      The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!

    Exalted be God my Savior!

47      He is the God who avenges me,

    who subdues nations under me,

48          who saves me from my enemies.

You exalted me above my foes;

    from a violent man you rescued me.

49      Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations;

    I will sing the praises of your name.

50      He gives his king great victories;

    he shows unfailing love to his anointed,

    to David and to his descendants forever. (Psalm 18:30-50, NIV)

REFLECTIONS:

Today, we'll continue reading and meditating on Psalm 18, this time focusing our thoughts beginning in verse 30…

Life is 10% how you take it and 90% what you make it. Notice the repetition of the word “make” in verses 30–36: “It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect” (verse 32). I like verse 35: “You make your saving help my shield; and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great.” Why does God permit difficulties to come to our lives? Sometimes he has to break us before he can make us. Sometimes he has to reveal to us what we’re really like before he can make us into what he wants us to be.

David went through some difficulties. As a young man he was anointed by God as his chosen servant. He won great victories and was destined to be God’s next king on the throne. And what happened to him? He became a fugitive. He was falsely accused of all sorts of wrongdoing. He was chased from place to place by a godless man. He was persecuted by people who lied about him. What in the world was God doing? God was making him. He was taking David’s life and making him all he ought to be.

Verse 33 says, “He makes my feet like the feet of deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.” God wants to make our feet ready for his way and make us more like Jesus Christ. God wanted David to go higher. He wanted David to have feet like deer's feet that could bound over the mountains and rocks. He didn’t want David to sit still, complain, and pout like Elijah (as we read about last week in 1 Kings 19:1-15).

God gently deals with us (verse 35). It didn’t look like gentleness at the time, but when David later reflected over all those years of persecution, he somehow was able to say: “I see the gentle hand of God in all of this.” God wants you and me to go higher and farther. He wants us to stand strong and stable on the heights. Let him make you.

The path of your walk with God is lined with both trials and blessings. When the way becomes rough and difficult, he promises sure footing to get over the obstacles. Are you traveling a rough path today? Perhaps God is using this time to make you more like Jesus Christ. Let his gentle hand make you.

…………

We must remember that David’s enemies were God’s enemies and that he was fighting the Lord’s battles. As Christians we are taught to pray for our enemies and to do good to those who despitefully use us (Matthew 5:43-48; Romans 12:14-21). David did that. He prayed for Saul, and on at least two occasions he could have killed him but didn’t (1 Samuel 24 and 26). David had the right attitude toward Saul, but Saul did not have the right attitude toward David. As we read verses 37–45, we need to remember that David was not carrying out a personal vendetta. When he talked about his enemies, he was talking about God’s enemies. He was the instrument God used to accomplish his purposes against those who opposed him.

We find an interesting point in verse 42: “I beat them as fine as windblown dust.” David had grown spiritually (see Psalms 36 for an example of his heart's cry). When God enlarged him, his perspective changed. His enemies became as small as the dust. You see, circumstances reveal character. People say, “A man is made by a crisis.” No, a crisis does not make a person. It reveals what that person is made of. When the crisis came, Saul and his crowd grew smaller and smaller as their true nature was revealed. But David grew bigger and bigger. He was also established (verse 36), while his enemies became like the dust that the wind blows away.

Are your circumstances making you smaller or bigger? Are they enabling you to overcome, or are they overcoming you? David rejoiced that God had given him victory in spite of his enemies and circumstances. The victory is the Lord’s. Let your circumstances make you bigger and greater for him.

…………

David closed this long psalm of triumph and victory with a doxology. “The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted the God my Savior” (verse 46). David had been a fugitive. He had been waiting for the day when he could ascend the throne. Now the day had come. How did he respond? He glorified God.

I suppose some of us would have said, “Well, my enemies are gone. Now I can do what I please. My battles are over. I’ve been put into a large place. Therefore, watch out, everybody, here I come!” But David didn’t have that attitude at all. He gave glory to God. He ended his song with a hymn of praise to the One who had delivered him. “Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name” (verse 49). Here was David, a Jew, saying, “I want these Gentiles to know how great my God is.” Are you concerned about letting the nations know how great God is? Are you burdened to tell the gospel to other people? If the Lord has graciously saved us and delivered us from all sorts of evil and oppression, then we should be telling others what he has done for us.

David closed his song of victory by blessing the Lord. “The Lord lives!” (verse 46). Isn’t it good to know that we trust in the living God? Some people may worship a dead god, but we don’t. We are the children of the living God. David said, “God is alive, and he is my rock and my salvation. I want him to be exalted.” And he concluded, “He gives his king great victories” (verse 50).

How do you respond after a victory? If you're like me, you can oftentimes fail to exalt the Lord. You and I trust in a living God, who protects us and delivers us. He deserves our worship and praise. Have you given God the glory for your victories?

WHO AM I?

I am Tres Sansom, and this psalm reminds me of a book I read a number of years ago entitled Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurdard. Similar in style to Pilgrim's Progress, it is an allegory of the Christian life from salvation through maturity. It tells the story of a young woman named Much Afraid and her journey away from her Fearing family into the High Places of the Shepherd. In a very interesting and creative way, it shows how a Christian undergoes a radical transformation of character—from unbeliever to immature believer to mature believer, who walks daily with his/her Lord as easily on the High Places of Joy in the spirit as in the daily life of the mundane and often-times humiliating trials that tempt us to lose perspective of who we now are in Christ. A very interesting read, indeed. Creatively told and inspirational!