Psalm 42:8

New International Version (NIV)

By day the Lord directs his love,
    at night his song is with me—
    a prayer to the God of my life.

For meditation,

Who do you call when distressed? When the forces of evil rise against you, and everything is collapsing around you, where do you turn, and in whom does your confidence for total deliverance rest?

Many things in this world promise us security, but none can provide total deliverance. Many are the places our hearts yearn to be when the stresses of work, home, and life overwhelm us. However, they do not deliver permanent relief when we get there.

You have been to some of the best resorts in this world and have enjoyed their hospitality and ambiance. Unfortunately, none satisfied your cravings for inner peace and comfort. In the middle of your vacation, the promise of escape waned. Your memory sent you back to the troubles you left behind, and the thought of returning home became another source of distress.

Blessed be God Most High, there is a place where proper security and comfort rule—a place of permanent repose and relief (Psalm 91:1-2). When his enemies taunted him, the psalmist’s soul yearned for the living God as his only relief (42:3). David craved for God as a thirsty deer yearns for water (1-2). When he found himself in a seemingly bottomless depression, no mountain promised the lifting he needed, but Mt. Zion (43:3).

David, therefore, encourages you to join him to tell your soul to hope in God like none other (42:5, 11). He confidently declares that God’s love will embrace you this morning, and His song will sustain you through the night also (8). There is nowhere in this world you can receive such continual security apart from the very Presence of the Most High God.

So, thank the LORD that His Presence is no more limited to a specific location, as in the Old Testament times. Through our risen and ascended Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the indwelling Holy Spirit has brought God’s permanent presence to our hearts.

By Him, you can choose to dwell in the manifest presence of the Most High and rest in the shadow of the Almighty. There is comfort, security, peace, nourishment, and absolute protection—all that you need—in Him 24/7.

Is that not where you want to be this weekend?

Shalom and good morning