2 Samuel 22: 28-30 

You save a humble people,
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
For you are my lamp, O Lord,
and my God lightens my darkness.
For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.

You save a humble people

I am called to be a humble person; To put God at the top of my list. Nothing else should be more important to me than the Lord. Unfortunately, all too often, I find myself trying to do things my own way, veering away from the Lord. I like to think that I have had great ideas, or that somehow I was responsible for the good things that happen in my life (the bad things, I’m often willing to say were God’s doing).

But your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down

Immediately upon reading this part of our verse for today, I am reminded of Psalm 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” I find that pretty much everything that has caused me grief is some how related to my pride. I think of myself instead of others or the Lord. I may even think myself better than others (and dare I say the Lord). Sure I can have those french fries, I’m worth it. Says who? It’s alright if I park in the reserved space, I’m only going to be a couple of minutes. I don’t have time to make the meal for that family. I have to get ready for a party. Whatever it is (and there are so many more examples), they all relate back to pride, or putting myself and my own needs above the needs of others.

For you are my lamp, O Lord,
and my God lightens my darkness.

But I am not left in my pit of prideful despair. The Lord is working on me, He is showing me my faults and like pealing away at an onion, each layer reveals something new I need to work on. Does God do this because I am such a disappointment to Him? No He does it because I am such a disappointment to myself. He points out (sometimes gently, sometimes blatantly) the things I need to work on, because it is in my best interest. He loves me and wants me to live free from all of my pride filled pains. He is a lamp showing my sin so that I don’t have to live with them anymore. Revealing the sickness so that I might be healed. It’s like going to the Dr and finding out you have a cracked rib. You knew you had a lot of pain in your ribs, but you didn’t know what was the source. Dr. God (sorry for the silliness) takes an x-ray of your chest and shows you that you’re indeed broken. Without God showing you your brokenness, you wouldn’t know what to do differently to allow you to heal.

We live in a sinful, painful world. I would venture to say that there isn’t one person out there who is reading this that hasn’t known some pain that has lingered on for years. But God can heal you of that pain. He is a lamp that will lighten your darkness.

For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.

Forgiveness is the stuff of freedom. Once we have been healed of our sins and are living with our Lord as the center of our lives we can find the confidence and freedom the end of this verse so displays. We can take on the world, and all its future hurts. We can leap tall buildings in a single bound! OK  we can leap over our problems and no longer be in pain because of them. He wants us to be freed from our sins, but often our pride, in the form of self loathing or self boasting get in the way of us seeing the hurt and dealing with it. I don’t know about you, but I want to have the Lord shine His light in my life, that I might have the confidence in this verse. That with the Lord all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

Can you leap over a wall?