April 19

Even though a royalty, David too was vulnerable: when he felt threatened by enemies or felt weak or when he wept all night and day, he turned to God and asked for His strength, mercy, love and justice in his life. But how could David be so distressed at times? Wasn't he a spiritual leader in Israel?

Sometimes we might think that we need to get spiritually strong in order to withstand difficulties in life. But lately I'm seeing in my life that the danger with this goal is the verb 'get. ' It implies that we can make ourselves spiritually strong! However, God is more and more speaking to me about His strength, rather than mine. It's not about making ourselves strong. It is about realizing our weaknesses and limitations and asking for God’s strength in anything and everything. Needing Him daily.

If a mighty king like David, begs for God’s help and mercy, don't we also need to be that much reliant on God in our lives? After all, we are all kings and queens of our own little worlds and we resort to our own strength when things get tough: when enemies arise, or when there was injustice against us, or when we feel spiritually faint after a hardship. But maybe we can be the type of royalty like David is in his psalms: one that is humble enough to pray honestly and vulnerably to God. Seeking His help.

Excerpts from David's words in Psalm 5:
"In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice
In the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation"

"You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil"

"but I in your great mercy
will come into your house;
in reverence I will bow down
toward your holy temple."

"Make straight your way before me."

"But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
Let them ever sing for joy"

From Psalms 6:
"O, Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me your wrath
Be merciful to me Lord, for I am faint"
　
1. How can you be open and vulnerable with God this week?
2. In what do you need to ask God to give you strength this week?