Mensa Otabil - God Delights In You
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Psalm 18:18 and 19: They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.
It’s just amazing to hear the word of God spoken in these ways and to hear the experience of David because we can share in those experiences. David talks about people who confronted him in the day of his calamity. You know, many times you get into some bad patches of life, some difficulty, and some people want to make it worse. They come against you; they attack you when they think you’re down, and they want to finish you off. That’s what David says happened: they confronted me in the day of my calamity. But he says the Lord was my support. The Lord was the one who helped me; the Lord was my encourager. The Lord was the one who gave me hope for the future.
You know, many times people can come so much against you and hit you so hard that you may even think God is against you. You may even think the whole world has turned against you. Many times, it’s not really the whole world; it’s just a few people-there may be three or four — who have come against you, and they are hitting you so hard. You feel their enmity, and you feel their attack, and you’re in a bad place, but they’re offering no help; they’re trying to just finish you off. But David says the Lord was my support. May the Lord be your support; may the Lord be your encourager. When everyone stands against you, you can be sure that the Lord is with you.
Then David says He brought me into a broad place. The Lord delivered him from the many waters, the waters that were sinking him, and he says He brought me to a broad place. That’s a good image because the waters have no stability; there is no rock, there’s nothing to stand on. But it says when God took me out, He brought me to a broad place. A broad place is a rock; it is a stable place that God brings us to. He takes us from instability to stability, and He doesn’t bring us to a narrow place; He brings us to a broad place. It’s a good place that God is taking you. I don’t know where you are now, but He will take you to a broad place, to a good place-a place where you can experience Him, His love, His favor, and His abundance that is coming to you. If you are in a dark place, He’s taking you to light. If you are in a low place, He’s taking you to a high place. The Lord delivers us and takes us to a broad place.
Then David says, «The Lord delivered me because He delighted in me.» That’s a very important thought: Why does God help us? Because He delights in us. It’s not really because we are the best people or because our case is the best case. There may be something wrong with us; we may even have brought a calamity upon ourselves. But God says, «I still delight in you. I take pleasure in helping you.» If you’re trusting in yourself, looking at yourself to be the basis of God’s treatment toward you, then you have no merit with God. But it’s out of God’s mercy, God’s grace, God’s goodness, out of His love and Tender Mercies that He helps us.
You know, many times people think that God will help them because they scored high marks; they earned points with God. «God, I give so much to the church; Lord, I do so much for You. I’m the best person in the world. Lord, help me because I’m better than the other guy.» That’s the prayer of a hypocrite. God blesses us, helps us, and delivers us because He delights in you, and He delights in you by His own mercy, by His own choice, and by His own goodness. Today you can rest assured that wherever you are, God will deliver you and bring you to a broad space because He delights in you.
Let’s pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, Your hand has delivered me. You have brought me into a good place. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.