My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.” (Ps. 57:7)
When David penned this verse, it was during a very dark time in his life. He had already been anointed by God as the future king of Israel. He had been faithfully serving King Saul, but for his obedience, David had only received persecution and death threats from the king. David was on the run for his life and was hiding out in a cave.
Not only was David having to hide out from the king, but this anointed (but not-yet-appointed) king was leading a very discouraging group of men. 1 Samuel 22 describes them as being in distress, in debt, and very discontented. Not exactly the victorious, encouraging kind of people you hope to have with you during one of the darkest times of your life.
David was in a dilemma, and maybe you have been there, too. God’s promises and David’s circumstances were at odds. What God had promised and what David was facing were two completely different perspectives. Yet even when things didn’t seem to be turning out the way God had promised, David found a way to “sing and give praise.”
David was able to sing a chorus from a cave by allowing what he KNEW to be true about God steady him when he didn’t SEE what God was doing. God had promised him a throne but all he saw was a cold cave. Yet he said, “My heart is fixed.” In other words, he refused to let his circumstances direct his heart.
We have the same choice to make. Will we see this dark time as a womb or a tomb? Is it the birth of something new or the death of what we thought should be? Will we fix our eyes on the truth of God’s goodness, or will we give in to our hopeless circumstances? Determine to fix your heart upon God and then you can sing a chorus from your cave!