But As For Me

“But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me. Make Your face to shine upon Your servant; Save me in Your lovingkindness.” – Psalm 31:14-16

“My times are in Your hand.” These words, they mean something to me. When I haven’t felt, when my soul has been downcast and my days have been dry, these words resound within me. This simple declaration comes as a barrage of fulfillment to the uncontainable longing for something more. The fire in my bones burns bright with the fuel of this phrase of surrender to Almighty God. “My times are in Your hand,” says the man who has sought for control of his own life. “My times are in Your hand,” weeps the man who suffers with loss and regret. “My times are in Your hand,” declares the man who rejoices in the blessing of God. “My times are in Your hand,” whispers the man who has been broken. These beautiful surrenders, these profound recognitions of the sovereignty of God, these offerings of praise and desperation, they rise to the Father and they are pleasing in His sight.

“All that’s in my head is in Your hands,” writes the poet. But it’s more, it’s so much more. Let it not be just that which is in my head, confusing and ensnaring though it may be, but all my time. My thoughts are my time, my actions are my time, my words are my time. Let my time be in Your hands, Father God.

How? How does the weary one make this cry from his heart? How does he make the plea of David his plea? Look, see how perfectly God has ordained His Word: first must come the proclamation of trust in God. First must come the cry of “You are my God!” How indeed can my time be in the hands of a God who is not my God? “You are my God,” prays the wounded seeking healing. “You are my God!” shouts the dismantled seeking repair. With the mind of trust comes the heart of surrender. “Lord, I know if You change my mind, You will change my heart in time,” writes the poet.

This is revelation; this is the Word of God changing perspectives, changing hearts, and changing lives. This is the simplicity of this earnest appeal, “My times are in Your hand,” unlocking the self-made complexity of sinful indulgence. This is the Spirit of God dwelling in the Word so that it might be living and active, speaking to God’s children, speaking to those who hurt, to those who need truth at its very base. This isn’t theology; this is intimacy with God the Father who became God our Father.

But as for me.