Suggested Readings: Psalm 63:1-8, Daniel 12:1-4, Revelation 3:1-6
Protector and Promise-Keeper
These three passages remind me that we serve a God who goes before us and protects us. In Psalm 63, King David is traveling through the Sinai desert. He struggles through the journey as he laments about the dry and parched land (v. 1). Yet, amid such a desolate place, David sings the Lord’s praise. He writes, “I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you” (v. 2-3). David’s surroundings are uncontrollable; life in the desert is a struggle. David trusts the Lord will get him through this journey by writing, “I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me” (v. 8). This imagery of God being a bird that guides us from above the chaos, seeing the journey in full, helps identify God as the protector and promise-keeper He is to David in the desert, and to all of us.
God is with us in the waiting. This message is what God communicates to Daniel regarding the end times (Daniel 12: 1). As Daniel waits for the fulfillment of prophecy, God tells him to “roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge” (v. 4). As Daniel waits, God asks him to be not passive, but an active anticipator. As David does in the desert, God asks Daniel to equip himself with knowledge by meditating on the evidence of God’s promises. Verse 3 declares,
Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, will be like the stars forever and ever.
God requests that we use our wisdom to reach out to those he calls beloved while we wait for him to return.
God goes before us and promises goodness to the person who trusts wisdom. He “will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life” (Rev. 3:5). It is a cosmic impossibility for him to turn away from us out of distaste, shame, or dishonor. God shows us how he protects us in Psalm 63. Through Daniel, God teaches us to wait actively. Finally, in Revelation, God reveals that he does not turn away from us amid the waiting. He is ever-present, ever attentive, guiding us toward His fruitful wisdom into eternity.
Lauren Campbell
Lauren Campbell
