The God of Psalm 20

I believe we all have goals and things we need to get done.  What’s first on your list, though?

What is on our to-do list: Go to work, help the children, pick up a gift for your spouse, visit the sick, learn a new video game, or go to a sleepover?  What is on your list of goals:  Finish high school, learn to knit, read the Bible, write, learn to bake, learn to skate or ride your bike, or get first chair in the orchestra?  What is on your list?

Here is a thought I heard one day: “Aspire to do something so large that a relationship with God is the only way you can hope to accomplish it.”  Then I read Psalm 20: 

May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.  May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion.  May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests. Now this I know: The LORD gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. 7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. …Answer us when we call! (NIV)

A prayer for higher goals that encourage us, and that we can pray for one another.  Wanting the Lord to answer our prayers is a goal.  Is it not? Wanting God to grant the desires of our hearts is a goal. Is it not?  Protecting us and hearing us when we are hurting are goals.  Are they not?  When we consider our to-do lists and the goals we want to attain, we, as Christians, know we want Jesus to walk with us.

This psalm is about more than what God can do for us.  It is also about some goals we should have to serve God.  Should it not be our goal to sacrifice in the name of Jesus?  Should a primary goal be to trust in the name of the Lord?

All that has been mentioned today are things we need God to do for us.  Whether it is to get the groceries or to learn a new language, it can all be done because we first trust in the name of Jesus. 

If I want a car, I can go out and work and earn the money to buy a car.  But wasn’t it more the time spent shouting for joy over the children who sing in the choir and come to Sunday school, or spending Sunday afternoon, bible chatting with young people, that helped God hear my call for a new car?

After months of trying, one day someone says, “You look like you lost weight”.  What did I really need?  When I think of my earthly goals, I might say I've cut down on my daily Reese's cup diet.  But when I remember the words of Psalm 20, I say it is because my work for the Lord, my sacrifice of time and energy in doing God’s work, my prayers for success as a follower of Christ, are the reason my weight is coming down.  I need the relationship with the God of Psalm 20.

Only God can help me achieve my goal to inspire a new generation of children and young adults to seek God early.  Another goal is to see a generation that yearns to know Jesus as much as the latest fad.

Did you notice that  I did not say know God, but do not know the latest fad.  When we long for goals that can only be achieved with the help of Jesus, we cannot lose.  The lists are not exclusive.

First on our list should be the need for Jesus to help us seek Him so we can succeed in all we do.  Jesus is the God of Psalm 20.