Psalm 28

THOUGHT FOR TODAY-

GOD IS THE INVISIBLE LOCOMOTIVE

On my way to a conference in Colorado, I was driving uphill along a major interstate when I overtook a freight train going the same direction at a slower speed. The train was being pushed uphill by two locomotives that sounded as if they were straining at full power. I'm a flatlander from the Midwest. Is this how trains move in mountainous terrain? I wondered.

A few minutes later, I gradually came alongside the front of the nearly mile-long string of cars. There I found five more locomotives pulling the train. Seven engines in all! Where I come from, I rarely see more than three. That train was a lesson for me. I had been under serious strain for some time. I was feeling tired and was wondering whether I could persevere under the pressure. How like God, I thought. When I am pushing a load uphill with all the strength I have and feel like my energy level is depleted, he wants me to know that he is in the lead pulling with power far greater than mine.

¨ Richard Mylander, St. Cloud, Minnesota. Leadership, Vol. 15, no. 2.( Psalms 28:8)

WE CAN'T RUN ALONE

The real picture that we have as we come to the Communion table should be a picture of the Hoyts: Rick and Jack. If you've been around Willow Creek a while you've heard their story. Ricky Hoyt has finished the Iron Man Triathlon, an incredible test of strength since Ricky is totally, physically disabled.

Ricky finished the triathalon because his father, Jack, is a champion. Jack swims for two miles in the open sea with his disabled son in a little boat behind. Then Jack takes his son out of that boat and carries him to a bike. Jack puts his son on the bike and pedals a hundred miles with that little boy on the bike. Then Jack takes the boy off the bike, puts him in a specially made cart, and runs a twenty-six-mile marathon.

We're all like Rick Hoyt. We couldn't possibly run the race alone. The God of the universe became to us like Jack Hoyt. THROUGH JESUS' DEATH AND RESURRECTION, GOD ALLOWS US TO FINISH THE RACE.

PSALM 28

REQUESTING (1‑5). David's enemies were undermining his reputation and his work, so he turned to the Lord with two special requests: that God would speak to him (vv. 1‑2) and that God would save him (vv. 3‑5). GOD SPEAKS TO US IN ANSWERED PRAYER. "If You are silent:' said David, "I might just as well be dead! And if You don't deliver me, You are treating me like the enemy!" Pretty powerful arguments!

REJOICING (6‑9). GOD HEARD HIM AND HELPED HIM, AND HE DOES THE SAME FOR YOU TODAY AS YOU TRUST HIM. You can rejoice in the Lord even when you cannot rejoice in yourselves or your circumstances. TRUST GOD TO BE YOUR STRENGTH, YOUR SONG, AND YOUR SALVATION (Isa. 12:2). HE IS THE FAITHFUL SHEPHERD WHO CAN CARRY BOTH YOU AND YOUR BURDENS.

(Psa 28 NIV) Of David. To you I call, O LORD my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit. {2} Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place. {3} Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts. {4} Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work; repay them for what their hands have done and bring back upon them what they deserve. {5} Since they show no regard for the works of the LORD and what his hands have done, he will tear them down and never build them up again. {6} Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. {7} The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. {8} THE LORD IS THE STRENGTH OF HIS PEOPLE, A FORTRESS OF SALVATION FOR HIS ANOINTED ONE. {9} Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.