Daily Devotional Time: Psalm 3

God still performs miracles. I'm not talking about televangelist miraculous showmanship miracles, I'm talking about God stepping in and intervening on behalf of His children.

Having spent my entire childhood and part of my young adulthood as a lost person, and struggling in my faith during my 20s, I came to adopt a creed of "lift up your requests to God, but don't be too disappointed if He doesn't answer." It was the faithless viewpoint of one who had never fully observed God move.

However, since moving to Brownwood, I have seen God answer prayers in mighty ways... and I have seen Him step in miraculously at the right time. There were times when there should have been no hope, but God responded to our prayers and saved the day.

There are times when trouble seems to pile up at the door. Psalm 3:1-2 says:

Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. 2Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.

Sometimes it seems that the whole world is against you... and your enemies might even believe that God won't help you. You might even think you are beyond God's reach. But the good news is that you are never out of God's reach, and the situation is never out of his control. Psalm 3:3-4 says:

But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. 4I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.

God is our shield. He stands between us and those who wish to harm us. He stands in the gap for us. Not only that, He is our glory. Everything good about us, everything that we can glory in, comes from God. God is also the lifter up of our heads. He is our comforter, healer and encourager.

But the most powerful part of Psalm 3 to me is verse 4, that says "I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of His holy hill." God, the creator of the universe, the all-powerful, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God hears our prayers. He hears my prayers, and He hears your prayers if you know Him. When you pray, you can pray confidently knowing that He hears your prayers... and He will intervene on your behalf... even it if wasn't quite what you were thinking.

King David totally trusted God. When He wrote these words in Psalm 3, he had been betrayed by everyone close to him, and was running from Absalom, who wanted to kill him. (Admittedly, he brought it on himself, but that's another story for another day.)

So when David wrote in Psalm 3:5 that "I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me," he wasn't praising a beautiful morning. He was thanking God for protecting him while he slept. God protects us when we are at our most vulnerable moments.

God protects His people, and never lets them suffer unless there is a greater purpose at stake. Or, as Psalm 3:8 says, "Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people."

Salvation belongs to God, and our salvation is tied up in Him. Trust Jesus Christ as your personal savior, then trust God to guide you through life, and protect you along the way. God bless you.