When faced with peril, we can rest with the psalmist in God’s hands

By Dean Collins

Have you ever needed a safe place where you could find protection? David did. We hear him crying out for protection when we read Psalm 31, and there is an urgency to his request:

“Save me….Turn your ear to listen to me; rescue me quickly. Be my rock of protection, a fortress where I will be safe.”

We do not know exactly which enemies David faced or how soon he needed rescue, but it seems David recognized he was in danger and could not handle the situation by himself or with his army. David appealed to his “faithful God,” believing he would intervene. He was clear with God that his trust was in him and him alone. And then we see this familiar line: “I entrust my spirit into your hand.”

Prayed by Jesus

This sentence was one of 7 Jesus uttered from the cross before his death. Some scholars believe he may have prayed some or all of this psalm but it was unheard by anyone else. It seems that if Jesus was familiar with this psalm and used it in his most agonizing moment, it might be a good prayer for us as well.

For Jesus, surrendering himself into the hand of God meant full surrender even to death. But this surrender was not a surrender of defeat. The full weight of our sins went with Jesus on the cross. His death allowed the greatest triumph of all time. His death brought victory over sin. Victory over death came through his resurrection just three days later.

One more battle

The psalmist believed full surrender of his life would result in his rescue and in victory over his enemies who had set a trap for him. He believed that trusting in God’s unfailing love and in his faithfulness would lead to ultimate safety and victory. But while the opening verses suggest urgency, the middle verses of this psalm suggest that the distress of neighboring enemies was not a new thing but a recurring event: “I am dying from grief…my years are shortened by sadness…sin has drained my strength…my friends are afraid to come near me…I am ignored as if I were dead, as if I were a broken pot.”

Distress was not a new thing but a recurring event.

This language is not the language of one who is experiencing sudden and unexpected trouble and danger. These are the words of a person who has endured ongoing challenges and difficulty. These are words from a tired soul who doesn’t have the strength to face one more battle.

Maybe you are not a king protecting a kingdom under attack, but many of us can relate to long-term struggles. How many have faced a long, slow struggle for health? How many have endured years of personal or business financial stresses that wear them down and crush hope? How many have lived in homes filled with physical or emotional abandonment that lingered like a terminal disease? How many have faced struggles with addiction? For any who have known long-term stress from battles that seem impossible to fight, then Psalm 31 is essential prayer material.

In God’s hands

David described both his urgent situation and his long-term struggles, but then as he continued his prayer, he declared God’s amazing goodness to him and praised God for his unfailing love. This is the prayer of one who knows what can happen when we entrust our spirit and our life into the hands of God. This is what victory can feel like when we place our future in the hands of God (v. 15). Allstate may have grown its business promising, “You’re in good hands.” But God offers the protection that all people in all ages have needed. As the prophet has promised (Isaiah 41), “God will hold us up with his righteous right hand.”

David was confident that placing himself and his situation in the hands of God would result in a coming victory, because he had evidence of God’s frequent and ongoing love and protection.“But you heard my cry for mercy and answered my call for help,” he wrote. “Love the Lord, all you godly ones! For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him, but he harshly punishes the arrogant. So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!” David was sure God had not changed even if his current situation was urgent and possibly worse than it had been before.

David was sure God had not changed.

The psalm ends with encouragement that can be our call to action: “So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!” It is the same instruction given to Moses, to Joshua, to David, and to every person of faith. It is a call to stand on the promises of God and rest in the hands of God. He is fully able to meet us in our moments of distress. Our path may not seem clear and it may not be the road we would have chosen. But when we travel with our lives placed in God’s hands, then we know we will see deliverance, victory, and ultimate resurrection.

Lord, again today we place all that we have and all that we are into your hands. We confess our weakness, our sins, and our inability to solve many challenges on our own. But we know of your unfailing love because we have seen it over and over in our heritage of faith and in the people of God around us. So with confidence we place our future in your hands. We will follow the declaration of David and of all believers who have come before us. We will be strong and courageous as we put our trust in you. Amen.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

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