Psalm 66, 69: Remembering His Promise

These two psalms are such an amazing reflection of the promise and provision of God. David is in a place he can only describe as a storm at sea- a place of blindness. He cannot see where he is going and he cannot get out of the situation he is in.

I am in the deep,
    the floods are crashing in!
I am weary of howling;
     my throat is scratched dry.
I still look for my God
      even though my eyes fail. 

                          Psalm 69:2-3, The Voice

Even in this terrifying time, where David is being threatened and chased and belittled and cursed- he is looking for God. He is looking for Him even as his "eyes fail" and his circumstances are crumbling. Do you remember a while back when we read Deuteronomy 6? Just in case, here is a reminder of what God asked of His people:

Make the things I'm commanding you today part of who you are. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you're sitting together in your home and when you're walking together down the road. Make them the last thing you talk about before you go to bed and the first thing you talk about the next morning. Do whatever it takes to remember them.  

Deuteronomy 6:6-8

In these two psalms, we can see the evidence of generations of faith-building in David's cries to the LORD. In the midst of terror and hiding, of feeling not-good-enough and abandoned by everyone, David remembers how God has provided for His people in the past:

For You have put us to the test, O God;
     You have refined us as silver is refined.
You trapped us with a snare;
     You have laid upon our backs a heavy burden.
You allowed us to be conquered and let our enemies run over us.
     We journeyed through dangers, through fire and flood,
But You led us finally to a safe place, a land rich and abundant. 

Psalm 66:10-12

This is why God encourages us to remember His past provisions. When we are in those seasons where life is swallowing us whole. When we are stressed out and over worked and exhausted. When we are friendless and feel so desperately alone. When we can't see farther than our hand in front of our face- we can remember the times when God has provided for us before; how He has always provided for His people and will continue to provide. No matter the situation, we can see how God has responded in in the past and say with confidence of the future:

The True God will save Zion
     and rebuild the cities of Judah
So that His servants may own it and live there once again.
Their children and children's children shall have it as their inheritance,
     and those who love His name will live in it.

 Psalm 69:35-36