Briefing: Some days I wake up and know what it means to be under attack and persecution. Some days I wake up and feel like all is great with the world. No matter what I feel like, what is the reality as I face my day?

Dispatch (Assignment): Read Psalm 3.

On the Street: This Psalm has a title to it that is not found in any Bible. It is a theme that runs through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. I found it in my Sunday school lesson this week. If we look for it, we find it everywhere. It is this, “be still and move”. That makes perfect sense, right?

Exodus 14:14 says, “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Being still implies trusting in God. I mean real trust, not lip service. The very next verse (14:15) says, “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.” God has works and a plan for your life and He expects you to get moving on them. Be still and move.

In Psalm 3 we see a similar situation. The writer is under the threat of attack, just like the Israelites were in Exodus. His enemies have risen up against him and they are taunting him much like Goliath taunted the armies of the living God. Do not be shocked or caught off guard when this happens to you. If you are living out the righteousness you have been called to and speak the name of Jesus Christ, you will be under the threat of attack.

You would think the psalmist (David) would be so anxious at these threats that he would not be able to function or sleep. David knows the secret to defeating the anxiety, be still. David tells us in verse five that God is his shield, his back up. David has this confidence in God that when he calls, God answers. Think of it like the confidence you have in your fellow officers. When you get on the radio and call for help, you know the cavalry is coming. (It is a good analogy but there is no comparison between the arrival of the cavalry and the omnipresence of God.)

The best part of this chapter is verse five. David says, “I lie down and sleep”. David is still, he trusts in God for protection. He does not stay up keeping watch, he does not toss and turn and he does not jump up at every little sound. David has peace. Having the mental peace to be able lie down and sleep is an awesome gift.

The second part of this verse says, “I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.” This is the “move” part. Don’t stay in bed in a depressed state because your enemies are closing in. Get up and fulfill God’s plan for your life. Be still and move.

The way David ends this Psalm is the way every one of us should look at the current struggles in our life. David is moving in these last verses, he trusts God will deliver him. He trusts God so much that he is moving past, or through, the problem. David will come out the other side with a focus and trust in God that moves him to get back to the work God has called him to. David shows us how to be still and move.

Investigational Resources: Exodus 14, 2 Samuel 5:24, Deuteronomy 31:3.

Officer Safety Principle: There might not be an army camped outside your front door. It could be people at work who treat you bad, people who are bullying you or a friend who has let you down. It could be the constant news stories of hate and violence in this world. Whatever your current threat of attack is, be still and move.

from Psalms Through the Eyes of a Cop, Volume 1
©by Charles Gilliland. Used by permission.
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