1 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,
For my soul takes refuge in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction passes by. 2 I will cry to God Most High,
To God who accomplishes all things for me. 3 He will send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches him who tramples upon me.
Selah.
God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.
For my soul takes refuge in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction passes by. 2 I will cry to God Most High,
To God who accomplishes all things for me. 3 He will send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches him who tramples upon me.
Selah.
God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.
4 My soul is among lions;
I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows
And their tongue a sharp sword. 5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth. 6 They have prepared a net for my steps;
My soul is bowed down;
They dug a pit before me;
They themselves have fallen into the midst of it.
Selah.
I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows
And their tongue a sharp sword. 5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth. 6 They have prepared a net for my steps;
My soul is bowed down;
They dug a pit before me;
They themselves have fallen into the midst of it.
Selah.
7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline stretches 800 miles through Alaska. Because it was built through an earthquake zone, engineers had to be sure the pipe could withstand earth trauma. They decided on a network of Teflon sliders designed to ease the shock when the ground moved below the pipes. Engineers were delighted when the first big test came. In 2002, an earthquake occurred causing the ground to move 18 feet to one side. The Teflon sliders moved gently to accommodate the movement without any damage to the pipe. The key was flexibility.
The believer's Spiritual pipeline to heaven is built upon firm trust in God. But if we are inflexible in our expectations of how God should work, we can run into trouble. In a crisis, we can make the mistake of shifting our focus from God to our painful circumstances. Our prayer should be, "God, I don't understand why You have allowed this painful situation. But I am trusting in Your ultimate deliverance despite all that's going on around me." The psalmist expressed this so well when he wrote: "My soul trust in You... until these calamities have passed by" (Ps. 57:1).
When the earth seems to move under us, lets be flexible in our expectations but firmly confidant in God's steadfast love and care. -Dennis Fisher
God may delay or deny our request,
but He will never disappoint our trust.
