See the Substitute - by James Newton
Do you think God is proud of you?
Do you think He is interested in your problems?
Is He really listening when you ask Him for help?
In Psalm 3, David is facing a really fearful, anxiety-causing situation. He was running for his life and his very identity as king of Israel was under threat. And worse, he knew it was his own fault. He was running from Absalom – his own son – and his family was a mess because of his own poor choices in the past. Somehow though, in amongst all of this turmoil, David knew that God still cared. More than that, as David wrote, God was a shield around him and the lifter of his head (v3); God answers him from His holy mountain (v4); and God was sustaining him (v5).
Back in Genesis 15, God used the shield analogy when he made His promise to Abram. It’s interesting how two parties would make a contract back then. They would kill some animals and lay them out on the ground. Then they would walk between the dead animals, thus identifying with them and saying “may I be like these animals if I break my promise”. After God told Abram to kill and lay out some animals, darkness came over the area and God’s very presence passed between the dead animals. This was God making His promise to Abram that he would make a great nation from his descendants – Israel. Ever wondered why God chose Israel? I think the answer is that He chose them because He chose them :-).
So, back to David… As a descendant of Abram, David knew all about this story – God’s promise. When he said that God answers him from His holy mountain, he was talking about the tabernacle. This was the place that represented God’s promise. On top of that, it was the place where sacrifices were made so that sins could be forgiven. Despite all of the mess that he was in because of his own failings, David knew that he could approach the tabernacle and have his sins dealt with. And that meant that no matter what happened to him, God still cared for him and was proud of him. God still loved him because of His promise to Abram; because of His promise for Israel.
How do we know that God is proud of us? That He cares about our problems? That He listens to us when we ask for help? That He loves us? God gave us a new promise. And it’s guaranteed by the blood of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” What this means is that if we put our trust in Christ Jesus, when God looks at us, He doesn’t see the mess we’ve made of our lives. Instead, He sees the perfect life that Christ lived and this makes us right with Him. It also means that our future is secure.
So whatever happens, have no fear. God is not mad at you. He loves you and cares about every last detail.
See your substitute – Christ Jesus – and know that your deliverance comes from Him (v8).