Psalm 13 finds the writer feeling ignored. He is whining that God is ignoring him. He has to carry his problems and troubles and has “my arrogant enemies….look down their noses at me”. Oh how we get caught up in what other people think of us – even if it is our enemies. Why is it we always seem to be concerned about what other people think? I was taught as a young boy that it doesn’t pay to worry about what other people think. First off, they probably aren’t thinking what you think they are anyway. And even if they are – so what? What difference does it really make? We should live for an audience of One. Now if people think poorly of us because we are doing the wrong things, well then our audience of One likely won’t be happy about it either. But if our measure is what God thinks of how we live and what we do, then the opinions of others don’t matter at all. They don’t have any voice in eternity. They have no say at judgment day. Only God will make the call. And that call will be based on how we have lived, or what we have done with Jesus? Since none of us will make it based on living right, that leaves one entry question. Is Jesus our Savior and Lord? Have we put Him in control and accepted His death on the cross as the ticket to receiving God’s grace. That is the only thing that will get us to heaven. None of us will make it based on how we live. Not that life doesn’t matter. It certainly does. But our salvation is based on Jesus and our relationship with Him.
The writer says he “wants to look life in the eye”. What a great picture. We should live life like we mean it. We should pour ourselves into living every day, like it is the last day we have. The Psalmist says “I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms….celebrating your rescue…..singing at the top of my lungs….full of answered prayers”. What a picture of a great relationship with the Savior. When we run to Jesus, He is there with open arms to draw us to Himself. His arms are able to catch us no matter how messed up life has become. He will celebrate our rescue with us – after all He is all about setting us free from the chains of sin and despair. As we come into His presence and are freed from the oppression of sin in our lives, we will be filled with praise and will want to sing out our praise for His saving grace. And as we begin to walk with Him, our life will begin to show the power of Jesus in us – answered prayer as His power becomes manifest through our life as we learn to walk with and depend on Him. Are you experiencing that kind of relationship with Him? If not, there is no better time than today!
