Post 2 in Lifting up the Soul
Unto thee, O Jehovah, do I lift up my soul.
(Psalm 25:1 ASV)
Your soul naturally wants to be close to God. The true goal of Satan the Adversary is to keep you from having that relationship with God. Satan will use any means he can to keep you from lifting up your soul to our pure and living Creator. My sister, you must make it your priority to lift up your soul to God. Seek that relationship with God before all other relationships. Like every relationship, growing with God is a process. It takes time and effort to walk with Him along His pure and living way. Learning to come to God not only nourishes your soul but gives you greater peace and that deeper connection to Him.
David wanted that close relationship with God. Known as the man after God’s own heart, David actively searched out what God wanted. The Psalms and the historical accounts of David in the Bible tell of a man who committed grievous sins. Yet, he never quit on God. He turned away from his wrongs because he wanted God’s companionship, His help, His comfort, and His forgiveness. He also wanted God’s justice—for Him to make right what was wrong in David’s life. He begged God to avenge him, to punish those who were against his relationship with God.
David struggled with loss, grief, depression, anxiety, and abuse. He battled wars inside and out. He dealt with betrayal and deception. Friends and relatives he should have been able to rely on treated him cruelly. People pretended to care for him, then gave him no reprieve from pain. David knew the misery of being separated from his people and exiled unjustly. He was cruelly mistreated for being someone he never asked to be—God’s anointed king of Israel. King Saul hunted him down like an animal, and David lived like an animal at times, hiding in caves for refuge. He went through a great deal to survive physically. How was he capable of surviving spiritually? How did he hold close to God through it all?
David Knew His Value
A person who is treated like an animal will often begin to think of herself as no better than an animal. A person who is mistreated and lives only to survive can begin to believe she doesn’t deserve a relationship with God. “Why would God want someone like me?” Has this question ever entered your heart? It is a fiery dart of the devil. It is meant to keep you from lifting up your soul.
David was brought very low at times. David did not allow his flawed and toxic relationships with his family or friends to alter his view of his good and pure relationship with God. Instead of allowing a debased view of himself to convince him God didn’t want him, he went to God assured of his value in God’s eyes.
In the first verse of Psalm 25, David shows us two assurances found in our relationship with God. First, he speaks to God in close relationship terms. “Thee,” which in modern translations has lost its meaning, is the informal “you” used in a one-on-one conversation. David is enjoying a personal audience with God. God grants him this close, confidential conversation—the conversation between two friends who address each other as “you and me.” Why does God grant David this privilege if he has no value in God’s eyes? The answer is simply that David is valued. God affirms his value by giving him the right to come to the most Powerful Being in existence and talk with Him as a friend and confidante.
Second, David addresses God by His given name. Jehovah means “the ever existing one.” From the beginning (Genesis 2:4), God wanted His people to know His name. They had His permission to call Him by name when other nations did not. Have you ever had a friend who insisted you call him or her “Doctor?” The doctor prefix is a term of honor and respect, recognizing the person’s educated position. It is a formal address that is intentionally impersonal. Many who hold doctorates refuse to use the prefix in everyday context because of the stigma of seeming arrogant or unapproachable. Even within their practices, some doctors will ask their clients to call them by their first name to develop a better rapport. God understood the personal relationship we crave with those we trust, whether it’s in our friendships or with those who advise us. And who can we trust more than the One who made us?
So, we are assured of our preciousness to God because 1) we can talk to God in a one-on-one, personal conversation and 2) we can call Him by His name. This is soul esteem, and it is where we put our value. We learn to have self-esteem by valuing ourselves how God values us.
David’s way of addressing God also expresses how David accepted the relationship God offered. When one believes she is too worthless for God to listen to, she is rejecting the close relationship He offers. People sabotage friendships for this underlying reason—that they do not feel worthy of loyalty, personal consideration, and/or love. When a soul put on Christ, she agreed to this close relationship with God. This agreement between God and a single soul is built on love and value. When one feels unworthy to speak to God, there’s a reason. Look for that reason and talk to God about it. He can remove that barrier. No thought or sin is too great that He can’t reach you. We need His help, His comfort, and His forgiveness. Come to God and talk to Him.
My sister, God made you worthy to be His friend. That means no topic is too intimate. No secret is too forbidden to divulge. No thought is too much for God to handle. You were given the privilege to talk to God because you are valued just as highly as God’s friend David. God is the friend who always makes time for your concerns. (Literally, He makes time.) He’s always listening because you matter to Him. Your value is not based on what others do to you or think about you. Your value is not even based on what you think of yourself in your best or worst moment! Your value is given you by God, and you have every right to go to Him at any time, to call Him by name, and to talk to Him as your dearest friend who knows all about you and cares.
Here are some passages to reflect on God’s friendship with His children:
Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Exodus 33:11a ESV
After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” John 11:11 ESV (Jesus speaking)
and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. James 2:23ESV
This is the second post in the Lifting Up the Soul study from Psalm 25. Subscribe to WomEnCourage to be notified as this study continues.