Day 18: Psalm 90

Whenever we find ourselves afraid in the present, we tend to ask a series of “what if?” questions.

What if I can’t take the vacation that we planned this summer? What if I get sick? The list goes on and on. The question of “What if?” drags our mind into an unknown future. I think it is human nature to fall into this trap. In the Psalms, when there is fear in a present moment, we are given a different strategy. Notice how Psalm 90 begins and ends:

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Vs. 1-2 Relent, Lord! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants. Vs 13

He begins by reminding himself of God’s faithfulness, and he ends by looking around at the current reality. He’s showing us that the best way to think about the terror of the present is through the promises of the past. Instead of allowing your mind to go forward, go back. In moments where you are most afraid, remind yourself of what you are most certain of. Isn’t it true, like in the Psalms, God has been your dwelling place in the past? If we disconnect ourselves from our past and only think about an unknown future, we are like a tree without any roots. We are connected to a long story where the people of God are terrified and they remind themselves of their past.

What should you remind yourself of right now? Write down a moment in your career, a moment in your family, a moment in your past where you didn’t know what to do and God showed up. Look at the present through the lens of the past, not the lens of the future.

Jared