God exalts the humble. That’s the story behind Psalm 118. The stone that the world rejects is the stone to which God gives pride of place in his building (vs. 22). This is the story of Israel and it is exemplified in Christ who, being of no worldly account, was exalted to the highest place. Psalm 118 is a king’s offering of thanks to God for a mighty deliverance in battle. He was clearly outnumbered and out maneuvered (vss. 10-13) but God became his defence and his strength (vs. 14). And God did this because the king cried out to him in his need (vs.5). That was the difference between life and death in this situation. “You do not have,” says James, “because you do not ask God” (James 4:2). How many situations do we charge into in a self-dependent way? You might be able to carry yourself to some success but, with God, you could bring so much more to every situation. In fact, given this opportunity to be so much more with God, doing things alone amounts to gross negligence. Who knows what greater purposes we forfeit when we charge through life in self-dependence, relying on our own ingenuity and strength? Let every problem therefore become an opportunity, not for you to show your strength, but for God to show his. God has a way of bringing about greater outcomes than we could ever imagine. Psalms like this are reminder to make prayer central in our lives.
Ask God to guide you and bless you in all that you do today.
Read Psalm 118
