GETTING STARTED
When I was in college, I had a makeup mirror on my desk. It was one of those fancy, freestanding mirrors with stage lights around it. I had two things wedged in the edge of the mirror, where I would see them every morning as I put on my makeup. One was a picture of my sister and me being silly in a swimming pool, and the other was a tiny scrap of paper with Psalm 62:1-2 written on it. I don’t remember where that tiny piece of paper came from, or why, as a non-believer, I chose to put it in a place of such prominence, but over the years it became a touchstone for me, verses I clung to when my life was crumbling.
READ THE WORD: PSALM 62:1-2 (ESV)
1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved
RESPOND TO GOD
The first two years of college were some of the hardest years of my life. I went from being the high school goody-goody and well-behaved oldest child, to some warped, hedonistic version of myself. I dove headfirst into the “freedom” of being on my own and living life to the fullest according to the world’s standards. And I was miserable.
When I was at my most wretched, these verses from Psalm 62 were very attractive to me. Reading them brought greatly needed peace to my soul. I desperately wanted the rest implied by a soul waiting in silence. I hungered for a safe place, a rock of stability, and a fortress of refuge and security. I was dying of thirst, yet the source of living water was right in front of me each morning, reminding me that God was where salvation lay, that in him I would not be shaken
When I was at my most wretched, these verses from Psalm 62 were very attractive to me. Reading them brought greatly needed peace to my soul. I desperately wanted the rest implied by a soul waiting in silence. I hungered for a safe place, a rock of stability, and a fortress of refuge and security. I was dying of thirst, yet the source of living water was right in front of me each morning, reminding me that God was where salvation lay, that in him I would not be shaken
- Use the verses of this Psalm as a guide to prayer. Talk to God about where you need his protection, his salvation, and his strength.
1Allen P. Ross, Psalms, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, eds., (Colorado Springs, Cook Communications Ministries, 1985), 839.