Psalm 3 is a raw, brutal, and honest cry to God about fear.  It contains some of the harshest words in the Bible as we hear David beseeching God, “Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked” (Psalm 3:7).

Who could imagine such hard words in the Bible, but there they are!  Why would God allow such angry words to be written in his book?

Well – let’s be honest.  I’ll bet there is no adult in the world who hasn’t been mad enough to say or think “I’ll kill them.”  And even though we would never kill anyone, we are mad, offended, hurt, upside down, or filled with overwhelming fear.

We’ve all experienced it, and God knows it.  When we read “Break the teeth of the wicked” we cannot help but think to ourselves – yes, I’ve felt that way too.  And despite these horrid feelings, God still love us.  He understands when we are tormented in our own thoughts.

But rather than staying stuck in such anger, David declared, “You, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me” (Psalm 3:3-6).

Yes, David ran to God for encouragement and protection. Even when life was unbearably hard, David could still sleep in peace, because he focused on the God who sustained him.

Wow.  What an incredible secret for us to know.

Instead of running from God when things get hard, we can run to him; to lift our eyes off our hardship and focus on the One who sustains us.  Yes, we can learn, as David did, to trust God even when it seems everything is stacked against us.  Psalm 3 is a challenge to stare suffering square in the eye and say, “You can do nothing to me but strengthen my faith because God is my shield and sustainer.”

Dear God, as Psalm 3 says, my deliverance comes from you.  I pray that you deliver me from my suffering. Even if it takes a long time, I know you are the one who sustains me.

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