Read Psalm 16
As a child, you probably sought solace and protection in your parents after a nightmare. Maybe as a teen going through high school, you went to your parents to seek advice or gain comfort after a rejection or failed test. As an adult, you might find yourself seeking advice for life in this world from a parent or mentor. We often seek protection and security from those that we trust.
Sometimes I think about a nightmare I had as a child. I was alone and those who I would seek to find safety were gone. I was in danger. When I woke up, I went straight to my mom’s room. I remember her telling me that if I had a nightmare like that again I should say ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.’ Throughout elementary school I would say that phrase. Before a test, ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.’ Whenever I had other nightmares or thought of scary things before going to bed, ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.’
In Psalm 16, David starts with a plea, a cry, for refuge and protection. Despite this plea, David later on asserts his confidence that God will provide hope, security, and an inheritance of “pleasant places.” As a scared 4-year-old, I had faith, I hoped, I trusted that my mom would protect me. It is that same childlike faith we had in our parents that we should have in God. The Lord’s counsel is sure. It never fails. We can find safety in His presence. In knowing Him we can have joy everlasting because of His faithfulness.
In this passage, David also describes the delight, the joy that he finds in being around others whose faith is in God. David had hope and confidence in the Lord. This hope comes from God’s promise that He will not abandon our soul or let us decay and confidence in the fact that He will lead us on the path towards, love, security, and joy. Without Him there is no goodness, no peace, no security, and no joy.
My nightmare was reccuring. Every night, the same thing, except the details got more vivid. After the nightmare occurred once again, and thinking that saying ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus’ was not working I went to my mom again. I told her that calling on Jesus wasn’t working. She told me that just saying ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus’ wasn’t going to help a lot. I needed to believe it. I needed to believe that when I called out Jesus’ name, He would answer and give me peace and security. Later on that night when the nightmare restarted, I called out ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.’ Everything that I had learned (and remembered) from Sunday School was all for that moment. Believing ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus’ worked that time.
For Reflection:
- The wisdom and presence of other believers in our lives can often bring us joy even in dark moments. When have you experienced this?
by Damar James-Harvey (Grade 10)
