It's The Little Things

“Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.” (Ps 42:8 AV)

It might be this psalm was written by David as he fled from Saul or Absalom.  The places to which He refers by name, some writers believe those places were places of refuge as he fled.  Our beloved Psalmist desires the presence of God through the hardships of life.  He also knows it is only the presence of God that will get him through it.  In our passage above, we see the result of the presence of God in difficult times.  God commands His lovingkindness to David as he battles in the day, and when the day comes to a close, he has the song of God in his heart and prayer to God on his lips.  David was a man of emotions.  He wore them on his sleeve.  He was a man of principled passion.  He was not an angry or envious man.  He was not a malicious man.  David was a man who felt things and when he did, he processed it.  He didn’t sit on his emotions.  He was a humble man who was not afraid of mentioning his weaknesses.  When he was afraid or weak, he wasn’t afraid of telling the LORD.  He poured out his heart and soul to the LORD.  This meant the LORD could minister to his heart and strengthen him in a deep time of need.  What we see above is David’s testimony of the practical workings of his walk with God.  The LORD is good to him and he makes prayer a constant habit.  It is this interaction between the Psalmist and his God that gives him the strength to endure through the calling of life that his Creator has assigned.

We can be so overwhelmed by life’s challenges that we become blind to that which God is doing in our favor.  We see the hard parts.  But we often miss the relief.  These times of relief are frequent.  We miss them because they are little things.  These little things add up.  We often forget them once they are passed.  In the south, they call them “God things.”  The Bible calls them the lovingkindness of God.  These little things don’t seem like much when they happen and even though they may bring relief, individually, the relief is slight.  I haven’t spent a great deal of my life in the hospital.  Perhaps only twice in the last forty years.  The most recent was from a heart issue.  One which the medical professionals thought I might have, but didn’t.  Spending a night in the hospital is not the easiest thing to do.  The nurses come in and take vitals or check on you or offer some kind of relief.  To some, this is an annoyance.  However, to others, this is a necessity.  They adjust your pillow.  They get some ice.  They may help you into the bathroom.  While they are taking vitals, they talk with you.  They check and recheck your meds.  The change you sheets.  They bring you your meal and clean up afterward.  The staff does everything they can do to make your stay a bit easier.  Their care may not take away all the pain.  But their care does ease the pain a bit.  We are grateful they put up with all the ill-treatment we give them because of our pain because they know that is not the real us lying in the bed.  They love their patients and care for them because they know it is not the best of situations.  All they want to do is ease that patient’s burden in any way they can.  Compassion rules in their hearts.  Praise the LORD for our patient caregivers who put up with a lot and with little gratitude in return because they have a heart that cannot say no.

David thanks God for His little acts of lovingkindness that are making his flight much easier than it would otherwise be.  David thanks God for His mercy.  To do so means our Psalmist is seeing those little acts of kindness.  His eyes are well aware of the troubled waters that he is navigating.  But not to the extent he cannot notice the simple acts of relief God sends along the way.  Maybe a smile or word of encouragement from one of the men who are with him.  Maybe someone who takes it upon himself to solve a situation for the king so the king doesn’t have to worry about it.  Maybe a kind word of encouragement from his wife.  Perhaps a well of water appeared out of nowhere when their flight was so hasty, that they could not plan for water.  Or perhaps a quick provision of game in the field as they fed the small band of men.  Perhaps the weather was in their favor.  Or, a small village gives them provision to continue their flight.  These little things along the way are the hand of God.  It is His lovingkindness sprinkled along our journey to make our journey a bit easier to endure.  These acts of God’s lovingkindness are what David sees.  They are what he is thankful for.  These acts are what produce the heart of praise and fill his lips with prayer.  Look for them.  They are all around you.  When you see just how faithful the LORD is, then you, too, will be filled with the song of the LORD and pray with fervency.