To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Psalm 25:1-3

It’s easy for us to tell each other to lean on the promises of God, and to expect him to be faithful. But if you read psalms like this one, you’ll notice something important: David depends on the promises of God, but also recognizes that he must live according to God’s Word if he wants to have that expectation. This is a combination of David’s effort and God’s abundant mercy.

He asks the Lord, “let me not be put to shame,” but goes on in the rest of the psalm to explain why he is worthy of God’s faithfulness: he is trying to be faithful (15), experiencing great trial (16), in need of forgiveness (18), and attacked by great enemies (19). However, David also proclaims that he waits for God (20-21). He is being faithful. In short, David is worthy of the faithfulness of God, because of the work that God is doing in his life. Confusing, right? But glorious, too!

With all of this extra time on our hands in isolation, it is worth looking at our testimony: do we live a life worthy of our expectations of God, or are we taking advantage of his mercy? Do we deserve to ask God not to put us to shame, or do we need to thank him for graciously sparing us greater discipline? There’s an opportunity for repentance here, and an opportunity for reveling in God’s faithfulness. Let us do both with joy!

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The “Isolation Introspection” series started as an opportunity for me to encoruage members of our Bible Study with daily reflections from the M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan during the 2020 “Stay at Home” mandate in Los Angeles. I’ve moved them here so that they can be shared easily, and perhaps benefit others. I hope you enjoy!