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“I will abide in your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of your wings. Selah.” Psalm 61:4.
When David wrote this verse, what was he trying to say? On one hand, it can be seen as a promise. All believers will dwell in God’s tabernacle forever, worshiping God and they can trust God will provide them shelter and protection. Seems like a good promise, a scripture one can stand on when looking at God’s promises. However, there is an alternative interpretation, one that requires more of the faithful than just a promise of good things. David was a man after God’s own heart because he uninhibitedly worshiped God regardless of how he appeared to others. Knowing about the nature of David opens up the passage to something deeper.
Perhaps the verse could also be read as a statement. “I WILL abide in your tabernacle forever”. Consider the possibility of choosing to abide with God in the tabernacle despite the forces striving to pull one away from the walk of faith. Could David have been declaring his choice to worship God and pursue relationship with Him even though his circumstances may not look praiseworthy in the moment? Sometimes entering into praise and worship can be a choice. The car breaks down, an account is overdrawn, a job is lost. Entering into the tabernacle praising God may not be the first thing on one’s mind in those situations. Yet, making the choice to pursue relationship with God regardless of how one feels can make all the difference. David went into the house of the Lord and worshiped as soon as he learned of the death of his first child with Bathsheba. Worshiping God right after the death of one’s child would not be most people’s first reaction. How many people continue to pursue God when the answers to their heart felt cries appear to be ‘no’? The challenge surfaces in the question “Will you choose to pursue God even if He does not come through for you like you think He should?” Yet David did so and illustrated his willingness to choose God and God’s plan even when it conflicted with his personal desires. David made the choice to abide in the tabernacle even in the midst of great personal sorrow. In doing so, he recommitted himself to pursuing the heart of God.
If the issue of worship can be construed as a choice, then the same argument can be used with trust. “I WILL trust in the shelter of your wings” can be read as a statement of choice as well as a promise. When David was running from Saul and hiding in the countryside, David had to continually choose to trust in God’s plan. When hiding in the cave, David had ample opportunity to reconsider whether he should trust in the shelter of God’s wings. Yet he lived to become king without ever killing Saul, his persecutor. David demonstrated the same choice to trust God after the death of his son. Perhaps that was why he was a man after God’s own heart. Instead of praising God only when things went his way, David praised God and chose to trust God even when he did not appear to tangibly benefit from the relationship. And isn’t that what true relationship should look like? Most people want to be appreciated for who they are, not what they do. Would it not make sense for God to desire the same thing from? Instead of approaching God like the divine ATM of life where one can withdraw whatever one perceives as a need, perhaps choosing to trust Him and His heart toward each person would lead to a deeper and more fulfilling walk. The world screams like a child for instant gratification of desires yet David illustrates a different path. The phrase “I WILL trust in the shelter of his wings” can be construed as a statement of faith evidenced by how David chose to live his life. Despite his circumstances, he chose to trust God. In so doing, he became a man after God’s own heart.
Finally, ‘Selah’. Pause. Why pause there? Could it be that making those statements of faith brings one into agreement with God’s promises? Pausing allows for a mental and spiritual shift to occur. One chooses to ignore the pull of the flesh, the world, the circumstances, all of those things screaming for attention when in pressed places and instead makes room for God, faith, and the peace which passes all understanding. Deciding to abide with God and trust in Him requires allowing space for Him to move and re-organize perceptions and mindsets. Pause, reflect, allow the Holy Spirit to move, and soak in His presence. When one resolves to walk with God wherever He leads, regardless of personal cost, then one can hope to become people after God’s own heart. Selah.
