Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. (Ps. 54:4)
Expanded Passage: Psalm 54
When I was a little girl, I hated closed doors. When I saw a closed door, I knew it often meant deep discussion was happening on the other side. I would use my masterful investigative skills to try and piece together the tidbits of the adult conversations that were taking place just beyond my hearing. No kidding, I remember running through the halls of a certain church where my father was on the board and pressing my ear to a boardroom door, trying to decipher the details of the agenda. I wanted to know everything!
Now, as a ministry leader and administrator, I frequently find myself inside the room with the closed door and all too aware of the complicated details. I wish I had savored childhood innocence and brought some of it into adulthood. It was a gift.
David wrote this psalm while he was hiding from Saul. He was claiming the protection and shielding of his heavenly Father, just as my father (and mother) often shielded me from unnecessary knowledge. David trusted that his heavenly Father would sustain him and protect him. Likewise, we can trust him to sustain and protect us from the heaviness of life’s ups and downs. And in the midst of all of them, we should praise God for who he is and what he’s done on our behalf.
Trust your Father to shield you in the complicated details of life.
Holly Atkinson is a graduate of Oklahoma Wesleyan University and Wesley Seminary (IN). She serves as an assistant principal at a private school in Florida and is married to Pastor Derek Atkinson. They have two girls.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
