Watching
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Psalm 59:6-10
You, O God, are my
fortress (v.9).
My 7-year-old son, Wyatt, loves chess. I first
taught him to play on the chessboard in our
local coffee shop, and last Christmas he asked
for his own set to enjoy at home. Recently, we were
playing after dinner, and Wyatt became infatuated with
the knight—the piece that moves two squares, then one
more square (like an “L”). His strategy was fixated on his
desire to get the knight to move all over the board. So,
with his focus fixed on the knight, I methodically moved
one pawn (the piece that can move only one square at a
time) across the entire board, taking out his pieces along
the way.
We’re tempted to fixate on all kinds of things: our
image, another person’s opinion of us, our success or
our failures. When things go poorly for us (bad health
news or relational disappointments or financial woes),
we search everywhere and look to anyone in a flailing
attempt to figure out how to change our situation. We try
very hard to save ourselves.
The psalmist knew serious trouble. He spoke of violent
men who were hunting him down, “snarling like vicious
dogs” (Psalm 59:6). Their assaults were not merely
physical: “Their words cut like swords,” he wrote (v.7).
Do you feel as if someone is after you or as if some
circumstance has consumed you? Are you experiencing a
relationship that’s painful, that cuts to your soul?
Rather than working frantically to find your own remedy (which never ultimately
works), Scripture invites you to turn to God, knowing that He’s the only One who
can rescue you. The psalmist encourages us to quiet our heart, turn fully to God,
and proclaim, “I watch for You” (v.9 NIV). We don’t watch for ourselves or our
friend or our spouse. Our true help doesn’t come from these sources. We watch
for God. —Winn Collier
more›
I look to the Lord for help.
I wait confidently for
God to save me, and
my God will certainly
hear me (Micah 7:7).
next›
Who or what do you
watch for when you need
help? What happens
when we’re slow to
watch for God?
