Cultivating Confidence in the Tender Care of God
Scripture
Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings…
Psalm 17:8 (NIV)
Observation
As he often prays in his prayer songs to Yahweh, David asks God to hear and listen to his cry and plea in Psalm 17. This psalm is not time stamped like other similar psalms, but twice in David’s life, he lived as a renegade on the run for his life; first from King Saul and later from his son Absolom. This psalm was likely written during one of these dangerous seasons of David’s life. One of the common features of these prayers is an invitation for God to “check” him. This invitation to divine examen is David claiming innocence of any wrongdoing. In verse 3, he boldly declares, “Though you probe my heart, though you examine me at night and test me, you will find that I have planned no evil; my mouth has not transgressed.” David’s confidence in God is profound. What stirred in me this morning was verse 8. David asks Yahweh to parent him. “Don’t take your eye off of me. Keep me protected.” Like a diligent mom at the community playground or a faithful dad at the ball field, David needs God’s superintending presence. One of David’s most profound leadership traits was that he ran towards conflict. You see this in his saga with King Saul in 1 Samuel. Though he was careful to not put his life in danger by acting foolishly, his ultimate goal was to be reconciled to the crazed, jealous king. Wisdom kept distance from Saul while integrity kept pursuing relationship with him. This seems to be his motivation for this verse 8 prayer request for divine care. David was going into dangerous waters and he desperately needed God’s superintending protection.
Application
What astonished me this morning was a Spirit-prompt to notice the confidence and tenderness of David’s request in verse 8. Like a child, he asks his father, “Watch me.” I envisioned our oldest grandson Levi about 7 or 8 with his raspy voice crying out, “Watch me Drampa” as he swung out on the swing and let go, flying though the air and landing safely in the mulch. I envisioned our youngest grandson Seth snuggling in my arms on a Sunday afternoon during a summer thunderstorm. The clash of the thunder and flash of the lightening shook the entire house and his little body pressed into mine. His body literally declaring, “Take care of me Grandpa.” Both boys asking me to, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings…” Cultivating a prayer impulse for this kind of confidence in the tender care of my Father is part of my current challenge in my apprenticeship to Jesus. My unchecked impulse is to raise my hand to God and say, “I’ve got this” when in fact, I do not. Yes, I do not have a crazed king trying to kill me for sure, but I do have internal assassins trying to rob me of identity as the beloved of the Father. My inner critics raise their hand to be called on incessantly. Cultivating this kind of soulish prayer impulse asking for my Abba’s oversight and care is my souls desire.
Prayer
Father, thank you for your superintending care for me. You are a watchful protective parent. Forgive me for my cavalier “I’ve got this” attitude. I don’t. I can’t. You can. I want to let you. I join David in praying this morning, Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. Amen.
