Psalm 56:8-11 "Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? (9) When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. (10) In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word. (11) In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me."
Are you a daydreamer? Do you ever find your mind wandering away even when someone is talking to you? Do you ever find yourself sitting in the sanctuary, but your mind is somewhere else? Do you ever find yourself attempting to pray only to find your mind goes away even while talking to God? And then of course the word wandering can also apply to our leaving the place where you're supposed to be because something looked better in another place? I find myself going back to the Prodigal Son so many times, but he wandered away from the father's house because the lure of the world was calling him.David understood the knowledge and wisdom of God. The Lord knew everytime David wandered away from him whether it be through thought or action. God does not change, so we can also know that the Lord knows our "wanderings" as well. I'm full of questions this morning, but do you ever find hot tears flowing down your cheeks because you know you've done wrong? Do you feel the tears because of angry words you spoke or terrible thoughts that entered your mind?
"Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?" The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. When we shed tears or our hearts are broken because of our wrongdoings, the Lord counts those tears as prayers of repentance. He places them as it were in a bottle where He hears our hearts crying unto Him. The Lord counts each tear that flows as a precious cry unto Him for help. How can I know this is true? To quote the little song, "The Bible tells me so."
Can I trust it simply because it is ink on a page? The answer to this is found in David's words: "In God will I praise his word." I can trust these words because they come from the very heart of God. Paul acknowledged this when He wrote to the Thessalonians: "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." (1 Thessalonians 2:13) Yes, I can trust the words of the Bible because it is indeed "the word of God." How about you?
It seems to me that the best place for my mind to wander back to is the Word of God which leads me to the very throne of God. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)