Am I Crazy???

David, a man after God’s heart was running for his life, seems like he did a lot of that, and he finds himself in the court of his old enemy’s the Philistines. Knowing they would rather see him dead, David plays as a mad man. Imagine this once great hero, drooling, running around clawing at doors, all so they won’t execute him and buy him some time. You can read the story for yourself in 1 Samuel 21-24. I want to focus on the Psalm he writes while being crazy, and how it helps bring the life God wants us to live in focus.
Verse 1 starts with the the words, “I will praise the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.” How often should we praise the Lord, according to David at all times. Paul will echo these words  in Philppians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.” It is easy to focus on what is going wrong in our world and become complainers, but David says live a life of praise to our Lord. If you woke up this morning, praise Him, if you have decent health, praise Him, look at what He has already done for you and be thankful for that. As the day progresses you will see His hand more and more blessing you.

Verse 2 “I will boast in the Lord; the humble will hear and be glad.” We spend so much time bragging on our kids, our jobs, the stuff we have or our accomplishments, that we spend very little time bragging on the one who truly deserves it.  The kids, the job, our stuff or anything else we have is a gift from His hand, not ours. We should brag on God’s faithfulness, and His ability to provide our daily needs, and protect us from the things that would intend to do us harm. Before David faced Goliath, he told Saul, that a bear and a lion had attempted to take sheep, and the Lord helped David to dispatch them, he didn’t give credit to his ability as a shepherd, but in His God’s ability! We can do nothing of ourselves, but it is Christ who works in us, and through us.

Verse 3 “Proclaim Yahweh’s greatness with me; let us exalt His name together.” Our individual lives of praise should move into a corporate idea, as others begin to sing His praises as well. Even if you can’t think of a reason to praise God, seeing someone else praise, we are instructed to rejoice with them. As we lift Him up together it changes the atmosphere of the our circumstances. Soon we no longer see our problems, but we see our God, and His glory. Yet in most churches when we see someone worshipping we have the tendency to say why we can’t join in, wonder why they are, or just ignore them all together. Thus many churches are missing their visitation, because they are not worshipping the Lord and welcoming His presence transforming the visitation into a manifestation of the Power of a living God!!!

If this lifestyle is that of a crazy person, then sign me up. The unsaved will not understand this idea, and may even think that we have lost our minds, but I would rather have the Lord’s hand on my than all the things this world can offer. There is so much more in this Psalm, that we will focus on in later posts. So today, ask yourself are you crazy, or are you normal for this world.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Eric