Most people like the genre of action and suspense in movies and books. Timing is the most crucial element for creating the surprises in these mediums. It has to be just right to maximize the excitement. The thrill in fiction gives people a lot of happiness. Yet almost none of them would want any of that in real life. But life is full of surprises. Reading the psalm here is a good reminder that we really cannot control life, but our life is in the hand of God.
Commentary:
Psalm 31:14. The psalmist proclaims that the Lord is his God or alohim in Hebrew. The God here is not singular but appears as plural in the original language. The plural form is a way to emphasize God.
Psalm 31:15. What does it mean that times are in the hand of God? In Ecclesiastes 6, Solomon declares that there is a time for every event under heaven. These times include birth, death, planting, uprooting, hurting, healing, and many more. These times, by and large, are out of the control of men. They are in the hand of God.
Psalm 31:16. This verse is rooted in the blessing in Num 6:24-26.
The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.
Psalm 31:22. In terror, the psalmist thought that his life was over. But God had heard his cry and protected him even in the darkest hour. So the psalmist would sing and praise the name of God.
Meditation:
Times are in the hand of God. What happens in life is largely a result of God’s working; we just happens to be there and working at the right time. Our anxiety for missing an opportunity is then rooted in an incorrect view of reality.
We erroneously think that we create our own opportunity. We assume that success comes from our planning and our control of events. If we take on that attitude, no wonder we would feel worried for missing our schedule. We fear that our previous effort would go to waste or that some bad consequences would follow.
If we recognize that God is in control of timing, we would be at peace. It does not mean that we sit back and relax. It means that we have to be spiritually in tune with what God is doing in our life. When we miss a schedule, it can very well be a good thing because God is the ultimate planner. How do we know?
Prayer is a good way to find out. Pray to God until we have peace over the situation. Pray in close fellowship with the Spirit and wait for direction. Let’s not worry because God is in control.
Let’s imitate the psalmist in making a declaration that the Lord is our God. That means we rely on our Lord for our successes and failures. We rely on our Heavenly Father to set up our schedule. It also means that we make use of every opportunity to declare our allegiance to Jesus Christ to others.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are in control of our times. Let’s give our life to you and let you lead us. Make known to us your work, so we follow. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.