Psalm 18 (part 1): it’s not healthy to be a rollercoaster Christian
The subtitle for this psalm says David wrote it after being delivered from his enemies and from Saul. One is struck by the imagery used to describe God’s deliverance. Let’s face it, it didn’t happen that way, this is hyperbolic language. If one reads of David’s life in the Old Testament, nowhere are scenes like this described. So, if that’s the case, why do it? I suppose David must have been ecstatic at God’s deliverance.
Furthermore, if David had such proof of God’s deliverance, why did he later choose to hide in a philistine village to escape Saul? How soon he must have forgotten the beautiful language of the psalm and God’s miraculous help, if he chose to run away to Israel’s enemies and fake being mad in order to get their support…
Talk about highs and lows! This is a great example of what can happen to us as as we walk with God! One day we’re up, we think we’re on top of the world, because God answered our prayer in time, and the next day we’re down in the dumps, wondering what we did wrong and thinking God hates us - because He didn’t answer our prayers in time, or we’re going through hardships. Wouldn’t it be nice to stop being such bipolar Christians? I’d like to stop being one. I think it starts with trusting God and His promises in spite of appearances. Appearances always deceive.
Think back, how often did you fall for something because it looked good or you thought it was the right thing to do? I’ve dealt with many people whose appearances deceived me - I thought they were good, and they turned out to be bad, or vice versa. The person who used to annoy me or didn’t look like they were much turned out to be the one whose help I would need or who could lend a hand in a time of trouble. So if there’s one thing that’s constantly enforced to me is to distrust appearances and people, and trust God’s promises, no matter what. I tell you, it’s tough! It’s not easy!
Let me end with the following promises from this psalm which we can trust: “You are faithful to the faithful, blameless with the blameless, sincere to the sincere, but cunning to the crafty, you save a people that is humble and humiliate those with haughty looks.”
