“O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.”
Psalm 5:3
Before I opened my Bible this morning, I poured out some things in prayer before the Lord. Various aspects of life weighing on my heart. Then I turned here, to this passage that was already marked to read today.
What beautiful assurances and reminders are conveyed here, even in this one simple verse.
The Lord hears my voice. He hears my voice and He knows it is mine, because I am His. And He knows all my steps. All my details. All my cares. He knows all of this not just because He’s an all-knowing God, but because He loves me and is intentionally aware of my world.
He is near to me here, listening. With love and compassion and strength.
But this verse doesn’t stop with this truth. It goes beyond us voicing our cries.
There is also action.
Sacrifice is linked to the cry. Perhaps a sacrifice of praise even in the hardest of moments, because our God is worthy and the truth declared brings hope and peace to our soul. Perhaps it is a sacrifice involving repentance of sin or the throwing off of revealed hindrances to fellowship or obedience. Perhaps it is the laying down of our own expectations so we can open ourselves up to whatever our good, wise, and faithful God has planned. Perhaps it is sacrificing our purposes for His.
In it all, the sacrifice is given because we trust Him – because we see that He is trustworthy.
We cry out to Him and are heard.
We prepare our sacrifice.
And we watch.
We watch because we know He will come. There is anticipation here. There is eagerness. There is confident faith.
Because ours is the God who acts for those who wait for Him – and no one has seen another god like that, a god besides Him (Isaiah 64:4).
Our is the God who searches to and fro throughout the earth to give strong, ready support to those who fear Him (2 Chronicles 16:9).
Those who wait for the Lord, those who watch for Him with eager awareness of His power, character, and faithfulness, will never be ashamed (Isaiah 49:23).
Because our God will not fail us.
He is already on His way to bring strength, comfort, and peace, and to accomplish His every purpose as we look to Him.
We are greatly loved. Greatly loved, by the God of heaven who rules over all and who hears us as we cry out to Him, as we praise Him, as we seek His face. We can watch and wait and hope confidently because of this great, steadfast love and the great, powerful God who is our Shepherd, our Savior, our Strength, and our Joy.
“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.”
Psalm 5:11-12
In Pleasant Places 