I am amazed at how relevant Psalm 118 is to our present situation with the threatening virus in our midst and the panic in many places because of it. When I needed an attitude adjustment a while back, after succumbing to the world’s message for a couple days, God took me to Psalm 118. He reminded me that today, this day, is His day, just as all the others are. If I keep my thoughts and attitudes secured in Him, I can rejoice rather than be frustrated or fearful.
He also reminded me to pray through Psalm 118, so today’s prayer will be centered on verses 8-9: “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.”
As I read those verses again this morning, my immediate thought was “where am I looking for answers?” Am I looking to man, to scientists, to doctors for a cure for this virus that is in our midst? Am I looking to politicians to set us free from our shelter-in-place directives? Just whom am I trusting to get through this virus-and-fear-pandemic?
This pandemic has certainly lowered our focus from the heavenlies to what is happening all around us. We seek daily news reports trying to learn if someone has found a vaccine or a treatment. We wonder each day when the shelter-at-home directives will be lifted and we can return to our normal lives, jobs, school, church. By lowering our focus to these issues (which granted are important issues) we move our trust from the LORD to men.
We must be aware of these things, but the most vital of all issues is where we are placing our trust, where we are taking refuge. It is, as the psalmist reminds us, better to take our refuge in the LORD. He is the one who will give the scientists the knowledge and wisdom to find the cure. He is the one who will govern where this country is heading. He is sovereign over all things.
Today, I am praying that my focus remains on the LORD; that the peace, the joy, the security I so long for is found in Him. I am praying that He supplies men and women with the knowledge to overcome this virus, and politicians with the wisdom to re-open this nation. But whatever men do … He will still be my refuge and I can, I will, trust in Him.
