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PROGRAM D-7689
Are you concerned about world conditions? Do you feel stressful, just thinking about the condition of our country and how far we’ve come from being a nation that truly puts its trust in God, as our coins proclaim? I have a Psalm for you today—Psalm 9. It will lift your spirits and calm your fears.
David begins by thanking the Lord, singing praises to the Most High, because his enemies have failed to destroy him, the nations that are against him have been rebuked. David declares, “You have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.”
You know, for a Christ-follower, we should not fret or stress over the terrible condition of this world. I know it seems like things are worse than they’ve ever been, both here in our country and across the world, but God has all the nations in his control and he brings “the enemy to an end in everlasting ruins,” as David says.
So, if you’re fretting or worrying about what’s going to happen to our nation, or you’re fearful of the many threats that are looming, read Psalm 9 and be encouraged today. In the midst of his terrible conditions, David sets his will to be thankful and to praise God. He says, “I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.”
He didn’t say, I feel like singing praise to your name. He said, I will sing praise—he sets his will to do it, against his feelings, regardless of his circumstances.
That truly is one of the great principles and disciplines that we need to practice as Christ-followers, when our worries overtake us and our stress is off the charts, just make you praise the Lord and be thankful. It may not come naturally or easily at first, but if you will just give that sacrifice of praise, you will defeat that fear and worry. David declares in Psalm 7, “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”
One of the greatest gifts we have in the written word of God is the Psalms. A Psalm a day keeps the stress and worries and fear away. Trust me—this is truth that can set you free. Make it your daily practice to read a Psalm a day and you’ll see for yourself.