Welcome to the Bible in a Year for 2025. Intro to this series and resource links available here, plus here’s how I’m approaching this year.
Scriptures for Today:
Reflection:
With chapters mainly concerned with allotments of land, let’s take a closer look at the Psalm for today. Psalm 57 notes that it was written based on David’s experience “when he had fled from Saul into the cave.” This refers either to 1 Samuel 22:1-2 or 24:1-22, when David had been chosen to be the next king but Saul was still on the throne and had David on the run and in hiding.
Help! (verses 1-5) -
Refuge - I love the image of taking refuge under the shadow of God’s wings. It’s the idea that God can spread out a covering over us no matter what threat we are facing. Nothing keeps us from being able to access His love and care. This reminds me of Paul’s words in Romans 8:38-39 that nothing in all creation “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In the midst of lions - First, when we’re in deep trouble, that’s how it feels! It’s great to have scripture that connects God’s faithful care to this level of panic that we experience in real life. Also, I can’t help but imagine Daniel remembering this verse and maybe even praying this psalm when he was in the lion’s den.
Hallelujah! (verses 6-11) -
Turnabout (verse 6) - The snare that the enemy set for us caught him instead. This verse feels like a celebration of God’s ability to bring poetic justice. In a way, it captures a truth about the cross—that Jesus dying on an instrument of torture had to seem to the devil as if the Son of God was right where he wanted Him, yet that was actually the thing that defeated the devil’s schemes to ensnare humanity in his web of sin and shame.
Among the peoples (verse 9) - This praise for God’s faithful deliverance is lifted up to God and in the hearing of others. The praise is directed to God for what He has done, but in a way that others can hear who gets the credit. This is the essence of witnessing. We all don’t have to answer every argument or know how to solve every mystery. But all of us can give God thanks for the difference knowing Him makes and let others know that’s who we depend on. The witness shares their experience and lets the hearers decide what to do with it.
Questions:
When have you been in a proverbial “lion’s den”?
When have you experienced the Lord’s help in a time of trouble?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.” Amen. (Psalm 57:11)
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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Wonderful reflection on a condition of life we have all experienced.