I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:1-4
Have you ever felt this way? The writer of this Psalm is praising God for rescuing him from what he was going through. The commentary in my Bible says “The fact that God heard and answered the psalmist’s prayer encourages other followers of God to believe that they will also experience His goodness and care through extremely difficult times.” Isn’t that encouraging?!
That’s not all that’s in this Psalm though.
Read through the rest of Psalm 34 before continuing.
“Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles.” Psalm 34:5-6
These two scriptures are so comforting to me. As I look to Him, as I focus on Him, He sees me as radiant, not covered with shame. If I begin to hear and listen to the lies of the enemy and believe that I am, yet again, covered in shame, I (we) can look to these scriptures and remember that, No! We are not covered in shame, we are radiant and He has saved us from our troubles.
In this chapter, God promises to set us free from earthly fears, save us from trouble, send angels to protect us, meet our needs, give us a fulfilling life, hear our prayers, comfort us with His presence, and renew our relationship with Him.
BUT… notice that verse 14 tells us to “Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” Verse 15 tells us “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry.” All of these promises and blessings are conditional. Are we righteous? Do we seek a relationship with Him like the psalmist in verses 4 and 10? Do we cry out to Him, fear Him, honor Him? Do we keep pour tongues from lying, avoid the world’s evil, do good and see after peace, have broken and humble hearts, have we become His servants?
A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.” Psalm 34:19
I want these blessings from the Lord. I want to be a righteous woman. I want the Lord to deliver me from everything I face. Therefore, I must see Him, choose Him, read His Word and obey His commands.
I encourage you to spend some time with the Lord. I will include my prayer below, pray it along with me if you’d like, then spend some time with Him.
Modify prayer below then post.
Lord, I thank you for all you’ve done for me. I praise you for your goodness and mercy. Thank you God for rescuing me in my times of trouble. Lord I want to be radiant and righteous before you, I want to choose you, seek you in all I do. Give me strength to serve you all of my days. Thank you for your many blessings. In Jesus name, Amen.