Psalms for the Soul: Psalm 61: Daily Bible Study, Daily Devotional, Hearing Jesus

Here are your Monday affirmations. I will read the phrase and then you repeat it, and then I will tell you the scripture it's from. Take a deep breath. This is a new day filled with God's grace and purpose. You are not defined by your past or your mistakes or the opinions of others. You are defined by the truth of God's word. Let these affirmations fill your heart as you step into today. I am a child of God, chosen and loved. First John 3.1, see what great love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139.14, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. I am fully known and loved fully by God. Psalm 139.1 and 2, you have searched me Lord and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar. I have been chosen before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1.4, for he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. I am created in the image of God. Genesis 127. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them. I am redeemed and made new in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5.17, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old is gone, the new is here. I am set apart for God's purpose. 1 Peter 2.9, but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. I am God's masterpiece created for good works. Ephesians 2.10, for we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. I am loved with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31.3, I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. I am called by name and belong to God. Isaiah 43.1, do not fear for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name, you are mine. I am not my past, I am a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5.17, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone, the new is here. I have been bought with a price and I belong to God. 1 Corinthians 6.20, you were bought at a price, therefore honor God with your bodies. I am seated in heavenly places with Christ. Ephesians 2.6, and God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. I am co-heir with Christ. Romans 8.7, I am a new creation. Romans 8.17, now if we are children, then we are heirs. Heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. If indeed we share in his sufferings, in order that we may also share in his glory. I am not rejected, I am accepted in Christ. Ephesians 1.6, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the one he loves. I am never alone, God is always with me. Hebrews 13.5, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. I am valuable and precious in God's sight. Isaiah 43.4, since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. I have been set free by the truth of Jesus. John 8.36, so if the sun sets you free, you will be free indeed. I am more than a conqueror through Christ. Romans 8.37, no, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. I am a light in this world shining for Christ. Matthew 5.14, you are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. I am God's dwelling place, His Spirit lives within me. 1 Corinthians 3.16, don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst? I am forgiven and free from condemnation. Romans 8.1, therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I have a divine purpose and calling from God. Jeremiah 29.11, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. I am dearly loved and nothing can separate me from God's love. Romans 8.38 and 39, for I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, nor any height, nor any depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Father, thank you for reminding me who I am in you. Help me to walk in confidence today, knowing that I am chosen, loved and called by you. No matter what comes my way, let my identity be rooted in your truth. In Jesus' name, amen. I hope these affirmations spoke to your heart today. If you wanna go deeper, just keep listening. Your full Bible study episode is coming up next. As we spend time listening for God's voice, there are moments when he invites us to step out of our normal routines and to follow him more intentionally. Bible Study Live is an in-person, Bible study experience that I've built around traveling with that kind of purpose. We gather to open scripture together, to pray, to learn and walk through the Bible in community, all while being fully present in these meaningful places. We've recently added a second location and many of the spots are already filled by alumni who've gone on previous trips with me before. Because of that, space is limited. If you've been sensing that God may be involved in the process of getting to the place of the Bible study, you've been sensing that God may be inviting you into a deeper season of growth. I'd love to have you join us on one of this year's trips. You can learn more at Biblestudylive.org. Hey friends, I'm Rachel Grohl, and I'm your host for the Hearing Jesus podcast, where I help you to know God and to make him known. One of the common expressions you hear in Christian circles is that we live in this world and not of this world. What does that really mean? And how can we articulate how to live in this world when we aren't of this world? And so today we're gonna take a look at that very concept. And I love this Psalm because it reminds us that despite the chaos that may be going on around us in the world, we can lean into this protection and refuge that we have because of God and who he is. So I pray that today's episode is a blessing for you. Reading through Psalm 61. And unless I say otherwise, I am reading from the NIV, the new international version. Starting at verse one. Hear my cry, oh God, listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth, I call to you. I call as my heart grows faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. For you have heard my vows, oh God, you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. Increased the days of the king's life, his years for many generations, may he be enthroned in God's presence forever. Appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him. Then will I ever sing praise to your name and fulfill my vows day after day. Have you ever felt kind of off living in this world as a believer? I don't know about you, but that happens to me a lot. And there's this common expression that always goes through my mind where it talks about how we are to live in the world, but not of the world. And it's almost as if we're resident aliens living in a place that is not our home. And because that's the truth of the matter, as believers, heaven is our home. And so what happens is, is we experience things in this lifetime that are contrary to God's original created order. And it feels like this tension that's in us because we know intuitively that this is just not how things are supposed to be, especially when we're facing things like brokenness and the new cycle and all the chaos that this world brings. So Psalm 61 is another lament Psalm. It's an individual lament. And we as the reader are not given exact insight into what the problem is, except evidently, like it has happened for some of the other Psalms, like Psalm 42 and Psalm 43, we know that it's related to a foe. In 61, it talks about the foe, meaning like an enemy. And so there's this beautiful prayer that happens on the king's behalf. And it is such a good and powerful example for us. Now we're reading Psalm 61 after just having read Psalm 60. And of course, tomorrow we'll read Psalm 62. But in this place, one of the themes that we see in all three of those is talking about the faithful who fear God. And so in tomorrow's passage, what we'll talk about is how the Psalmist calls God his rock. And in the same sense, in 61, God is called the refuge. And those are some common terms. And it may just be coincidental, but many scholars of the book of Psalms feel like that is a connection between these three Psalms. That's important because when we're looking at these within the context of each other, there's a connection both geographically when we were talking about the different areas of that that were mentioned in the other Psalm that were a reminder of God's faithfulness when God had promised that that area of land as part of the covenant. So we wanna keep that reminder geographically that God is still there. And then also metaphorically, because this is a Psalm that is prayed by somebody who feels distant from God. And I think that is a common experience that a lot of us have felt from time to time where there's a difference between what we know and what we feel. For sure, we know that God is present, God is near, but sometimes we don't feel like God is present and God is near. And that's not a situation that is unique to us as humans, that's part of humanity. It's part of this fallen world that we live in. Even David all the way back when these Psalms were written was feeling that. So we can identify with that emotion that is found there in the Psalm. There's two parts to this Psalm that we can see if you look at the structure. And so the beginning part is this lament and intercessory prayer where there's a prayer for safety. And then in verses three and four, there's a confession of the faith. And then there's a testimony and an intercession. And then a testimony of answered prayer and then a prayer for the king and then a promise to fulfill the vows. And while it may feel awkward or weird to us for a prayer for the king to kind of just be in the middle of this Psalm, that was a really common occurrence in the ancient Mesopotamian world where there would be spontaneous prayers for the king. And so that might feel weird for us, but if you think about the original context when they would have been reading this for the first time or who he would have been writing this to or the areas that they would have been praying this together, that was a really common occurrence where it was an expression of ancient Israel's unity. And that unity is almost a personality that Israel takes on where there's constant forward thinking towards the king and to the leader. And that's interesting because it's not always like that. If you remember Israel at one point, they didn't want a king at all. And that's why they went through all the issues that they went through. But at this point in history, the aspects and the relief from having a king, a good king is something that's always on their minds. I think that's an important aspect for those of us that work for Christian leaders. While it might feel a little bit different for us and we don't have a king per se, we do have Christian leaders over us. And I think that's just a great example of how we can pray for protection and wisdom and discernment for those that God has given authority over us in our lives. A couple of things I wanna point out. So in verse one, when it says, here my cry, oh God, that word cry is a synonym for the word prayer. And we see that in Solomon's prayer in first Kings. And it's a common way to begin a lament. But that was significant for me because I didn't realize that because sometimes I'm not crying, sometimes I'm just complaining or sometimes I'm just telling God how I feel. And so that beginning portion, it's not just here my cry, but it's also here my prayer. It can be used synonymously. And then the passion we hear in verse two, when it talks about from the ends of the earth, I call as my heart grows faint, lead me to the rock. So that's a phrase from the ends of the earth that obviously means the remotest parts of the earth. But the verb there that's translated as grows faint, it's used to describe the fainting that is caused by either emotional distress or physical fatigue or when death is near. And it symbolizes weakness. And so it's translated as grows weak or even like it's almost like the feeling you get when life is kind of just drifting away. And so the psalmist is using the rock talking about the refuge. And there may be some battlefield imagery going on here too. But what he's doing is he is talking about being in a place of safety from danger, whether that is emotional, physical, or even a life and death situation. That's something that I think is important to point out. And again, he mentions the name of Yahweh being a strong tower. We've talked about that in the past, a couple of Psalms. But that imagery of the strong tower is just this image of God is being the safe place where he can run. And then in verse four, where it says, I long to dwell in your tent forever. And it talks about being in the shelter of your wings. That's a verb, a ger, is I think that's how it's pronounced. It means to dwell. And so it's kind of nuanced of maybe like dwelling in a foreign land. So like we talked about the onset, an alien, a foreign alien, living in a foreign land. That's similar to how we feel as believers when we're trying to make decisions based on God's kingdom and not the kingdom of the world that we see around us. And so this phrase where it's talking about being in the shelter of your wings, it's talking about literally a bird sheltering its young babies underneath its wings. But that word shelter is also synonym with the word shadow. And so being covered by God brings such relief to us. I don't know if you've ever been in another country, but I travel and I work around the globe. And it's especially difficult in countries that don't speak English because I don't speak all the languages of all the places we go. And even if we did, there are different tribal languages that are spoken even within those countries. And so I've tried, it's not that I haven't tried, but there's just so many nuances of that. It can feel very unsettling when you don't speak the language and you might say, okay, Google translator, whatever, but that often does a poor job or just where we work, we don't have, there's no internet, it's not like you can just pull up your translator app. And so there's an uncertainty that happens when you are in a foreign land and you don't 100% understand what's going on around you. And then you have a translator. This is what I always think of when you have a translator that understands not just the language, but the culture that can translate that for you, it makes 100% difference. And it's almost the feeling that we get when we talk about being in the shadow of the wing or under the protection of God's protection, that's how God longs to protect us. And there's a protection there, there's been a lot of times where I have thought I understood something in another country and then one of my translators or one of my staff will say, no, no, no, no, no. And their protection is what has kept me safe in a foreign land. And there's even been times there was one time I was working in East African country and we were down in the market and I was just haggling, which it's not rude there, like that's part of their culture, but I was haggling over something I wanted to buy down in the market and I didn't realize it, but at the time a guy had come up on a motorcycle behind me and he was getting ready to snatch me. And I didn't know it until one of our translators, he stepped in and he stood in between me and this guy on the motorcycle and he started yelling at him in their language. And I had no clue what was even going on. And so because I was in his shadow, because he was keeping an eye on me, because he had a presence around me, there was a protection there that I didn't even know that I needed. And I think that's a powerful example of how God longs to be that protective shadow for us. But the problem is that sometimes we run out from underneath the shadow. Sometimes we wanna be in full fledged sun and we don't wanna be in the shadow. One of the takeaways from this passage of scripture is that he longs to be that presence, that protective presence in our lives. And I think this Psalm addresses that in a couple different ways. I mean, this verb to dwell that it's talking about, yes, it's talking about like kind of like a resident alien or a resident foreigner or even a traveler, but it also includes people that have been settled and living in that adopted country for quite some time. And maybe that was a result of privileges, but they weren't full citizens. And so Abraham, as an example, was a resident alien in Hebron. And Moses at the beginning of Exodus was a resident alien in Midian. He was a foreigner, accepted there, lived there, but he was a foreigner, a limilec in Moab that we see in Ruth. And even the Israelites in Egypt. And so on one hand, we see this desire to dwell in God's house. And that sounds a lot like some of the other songs that we've read, but what we're getting after is a more permanent dwelling. And the Israelites, as they were in Egypt and then as they were wandering, one of the things that was heavy on their hearts was they wanted to get to a place that would have been a permanent dwelling. And it took a whole lifetime for them to even get to that place. But in the middle of that, even though they did not feel like they had this permanent dwelling, there was a refuge by God's spirit that protected them in a way that was permanent. And I think about that in times where we are facing the news and the culture of the world is living contrary to God's standard. And it feels so foreign. Like even my kids, they go to a Christian school and they have friends that don't go to Christian school. And there's even a difference there with the way that things are handled. And we have great schools around us. I'm not, I'm not dogging the schools, but just the culture around us, it seems, it's so contrary to God's standard that it's been normalized. And so there's a lot of conversations in our house about living under the protection and the refuge of God's spirit and what that looks like in a world that is not living for him. And I'm so thankful that we can run to God, that we do have this opportunity to live under his shadow and his protection, even in the midst of everything that's going on in our world today. So given that insight, I'm gonna go ahead and read Psalm 61 again from the beginning. Hear my cry, oh God, listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth, I call to you. I call as my heart grows faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. For you have heard my vows, oh God, you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. Increase the days of the king's life, his years for many generations. May he be enthroned in God's presence forever. Appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him. Then will I ever sing praise to your name and fulfill my vows day after day. Father God, I pray that you would help us to recognize that you long to be the shelter for us as aliens living in this world and the reality of the tension that we feel as believers living in a home that was not created for us. Essentially, this is a fallen world and our home that we long for, just like the Israelites long for that permanent dwelling. We long for our permanent dwelling in heaven with you. So God, I pray that in this tension that is not going away because we live in a world that we were not created for, God help us to recognize your hand, your hand of protection, your hand of refuge, your hand of citizenship when we are feeling like lost foreigners in a foreign world. Lord, I thank you that there's nowhere we can go that you are not with us. There's not a single space on this planet or outside of this planet that we could go that you are not with us. So we thank you. We thank you for your presence. We thank you for your love. We thank you that you choose to pursue us in relationship. I pray for my friends today as they go about their day that they would recognize your hand of protection on their lives in Jesus' name, amen. The Hearing Jesus podcast is so excited to partner with Compassion International. We believe in Compassion's mission to release children from poverty in Jesus' name. I've seen the impact myself through the letters and the updates that I've received as a sponsor. It's not just changing the lives of children, it's changing entire families, whole communities, always through the local church and always in Jesus' name. When you sponsor a child, you ensure access to quality education, medical checkups, healthy food, clean water, and most importantly, the love of Jesus, delivered through a church in their community because of a generous, caring sponsor like you. And you can speak life, love, and hope to your sponsored child through personal letters that you'll exchange. I hope you'll join me in sponsoring a child through Compassion today. All you have to do is pull out your phone, open up a text and text Hearing Jesus to 83393. You'll get back a text with a picture of a child who is waiting for a sponsor and a link to sponsor that child. You can also go to compassion.com forward slash hearing Jesus to choose a boy or a girl to sponsor. When you sponsor a child, we will send you a copy of She Hears Learning to Listen to Jesus, My Bible Study, as a token of our thanks for investing in the life of a child. Thank you for joining me in sponsoring a child through Compassion today.