Psalm 32: 7
“You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.”

Psalm 143:8
“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”

To whom or what do you lift up your soul to?
To fear?
To worry?
To impatience?
To approval of man?
To your children?
To self?
To your husband?
To your finances?
To your hobbies?
To your busy-ness?
To your ministries?
To self?
To food?
To exercise?
To tv?
To books?
To church?
To anger?
To self?
To perfectly clean homes?
To your job?
To health?
To your bible study?
To self?

Do you trust in fear?
In worry?
In impatience?
In the approval of man?
In your children?
In yourself?
In your husband?
In your finances?
In your hobbies?
In your busy-ness?
In your ministries?
In yourself?
In food?
In exercise?
In TV?
In books?
In church?
In anger?
In yourself?
In perfectly clean homes?
In your job?
In health?
In your bible study?
In yourself?

We might look at these and say, “of course not!” .. but do we?
All of the things I mentioned above are good things (well, except fear and worry and anger, impatience…) but are these worthy of lifting up our souls to??? What do you spend your time doing? Do you spend time worrying or when worry comes upon you do you spend your time talking to God about it? Do we trust in our bible studies? Or our pleasant circumstances?

Can you imagine the psalmist singing this:

Pleasant circumstances you are my hiding place; you preserve me from trouble, you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

Or

Approval of man you are my hiding place; you preserve me from trouble, you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

Or

Self you are my hiding place; I preserve me from trouble, I surround me with shouts of deliverance.

Or

My children you are my hiding place; my children preserve me from trouble, they surround me with shouts of deliverance.

Does your money speak of steadfast love in the morning? How about the approval of man? Or Worry? Do these things loves us steadfastly?

It seems so absurd, doesn’t it ? To insert our pet idol in the place of God in these psalms? Yet isn’t that what we are doing when we bow down to our idols? Aren’t those the things that we sometimes lift up our souls to?

May we be convicted today but not discouraged because the psalmist is praying and he says,
“LET ME HEAR OF YOUR STEADFAST LOVE…” Do you find yourself spending more time thinking about and paying attention to your idols? Ask God.. ask HIM to tell you of His steadfast love! Confess your sin.. repent of it.. ask God for help! He DELIGHTS to give it!! Don’t try and buck yourself up! Ask God for help! Beg HIM to show you HIS steadfast love and ask HIM to show you the way to go and He will do it!!!

My soul rejoices in the promises of God. His children are assured of His sanctification and making us more like Jesus. ONLY God is to be trusted ! ONLY God is our hiding place. ONLY God delivers us. ONLY GOD has steadfast love for us! Let us lift up our souls to GOD alone!

REJOICE AND BE THANKFUL!