How can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain”? PSALM 11:1
The advice of David’s friends came from fear and frustration. “The wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string” (11:2). That’s fear. David, you’re going to get hurt if you stick around. “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (11:3). That’s frustration. David challenged both voices: “How can you say [these things] to my soul?” (11:1).
David doesn’t say, “In you, Lord, I take refuge.” It’s not a prayer. He says, “In the LORD I take refuge” (11:1). David is giving us a framework for praying when we feel like giving up. We can learn from him how to challenge the thoughts we find in our own souls.
You find this kind of language in the psalms: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!” (103:1), or “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” (42:5).
Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that one of our main problems in the Christian life is that we spend too much time listening to ourselves and not enough time talking to ourselves. We listen to the voices of fear and frustration when we should be “preaching the gospel” to ourselves.
Challenge the voices of fear and frustration in prayer. Come into the presence of the Father with Jesus Christ beside you. Tell Him what you are feeling. Bring your worst thoughts out into the open: “Lord, here’s what I’m afraid of, where I feel frustration and despair.” You may need to do this with your own thoughts, or with the well-meaning advice that is sapping your will.
Where do you need to challenge the voice of fear and frustration today?
Written by Colin Smith
Read by Sue McLeish
