March 29, 2000
Reading
“O God, my heart is
fixed” (1)
With these words David begins this song of confirmation. This is his statement of faith as he contemplates the greatness of God. If he had any doubts before he put pen to paper they were gone now.
One of the devil’s favorite weapons is doubt. If he can cause God’s people to doubt their salvation or the Word of God, he knows their fellowship with the Almighty will be interrupted. He knows he has lost the battle for your soul, so now he concentrates on fouling up the most precious of all blessings, our personal fellowship with our Savior.
David begins with this dogmatic statement, “O God, my heart is fixed.” He makes the bold confession to God and man that he has made up his mind, that there is no room for doubt, that come what may his faith in God is firm and steadfast.
We need to make this confession but we also need to be aware that by doing so we are throwing down the gauntlet in the face of Satan! Such a statement accomplishes three things:
1) It confirms our faith in the eyes of God,
2) It confirms our faith to our own soul,
3) It confirms our faith in the eyes of the devil.
1) Before David makes his confession of faith, he addresses God. Of course, God knows our every thought and intention, but He still wants to hear us speak the words. “O God, no matter what comes my way, my faith will never falter. I will stand fast in your love and on your Word.” These are words God loves to hear from His children. These are words that are easy to say when everything in life is proceeding without problems, but not so easy when physical and/or spiritual problems confront us.
2) It is very important to our own innermost being that we make this confession of faith. We need this affirmation constantly. It is far more important than repeating the “Pledge of allegiance” every day in school or singing the National Anthem at every sports event. We need to pledge our allegiance to God every day, not for His sake but for ours.
3) We need to make this affirmation of faith daily and sometimes several times a day because the devil is never ceasing in his efforts to derail the faith of God’s people. I am reminded of the stubbornness seen in soldiers when captured by the enemy. They are bombarded by questions as the enemy seeks to break them down and learn about their mission, but all they do is repeat their name, rank and serial number. As Christians we must employ the same stubbornness as the devil seeks to break us down., “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” James 4:7.
Peter, when speaking of the devil, says, “Whom resist steadfast in the faith,” 1 Peter 5:9. He incorporates the three words we have been considering: “resist”, “steadfast” and “faith.” We can do this by affirming our faith whenever the devil confronts us. Throw it in his face! He will retreat.
“O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise,” vs 1.
“Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens,” vs 5.
The devil can’t stand it!