Feeling Worthy

I reread Psalm 16 in The New Living Translation to get another take on it and the portion that stood out to me is where David says "No wonder my heart is filled with joy, and my mouth shouts his praise." (v.9a) Prior to saying this David has recounted the good things God has given him and done for him--naturally in light of such blessing it is easy to praise God. But David had his share of hardship throughout his life, so his praising God here though it appears to be in the midst of a time of blessing should not be easily dismissed. It is easy to be thankful when things are good, it is not when things aren't. Here, it seems David is choosing to focus on and recount the positive things is his life rather than dwelling on the negative things--that in and of itself is something worth learning.

But beyond this first observation, I realized that David does not come to God with feelings of unworthiness and false humility. I think we tend to forget how truly humble his origins were, and thus what it must have been like for him to sit as King over Israel and ponder all he had been given and how far he had come in worldy terms. He is clearly grateful and thankful for the blessings God bestowed on him, but he is most moved by the things God promises everyone who trusts in Him: life, confidence in his presence and care, an eternal inheritance. Again we can learn from him in this as well.

What really struck me tonight though was the fact that rather than wasting time lamenting how unworthy he is of such blessing, David just skips right to thanking and praising God. I'm probably making a big deal out of nothing, but I have found myself so much lately feeling that I don't deserve the goodness in my life, the blessings God has continued to pour down on me, that I can't help but wonder after reading this Psalm if perhaps that isn't taking the focus off of God and placing it on me. Without intending to, I am reversing my role with that of God. We know from other writings of David that he was well aware of his unworthiness and the utter unfairness of God's love for people as pitiful as us--and yet he does not dwell on this--he just uses the knowledge as a springboard for praise--which is truly what God desires of us.

The beauty of God's love for us is precisely that we don't deserve it--even on our best days. We don't deserve his blessing, we don't deserve anything, and yet like a father, he delights is giving us good gifts--the least of which are the material things that we tend to notice the most. Like David, we would be wise to ponder the more lasting gifts God has given, and learn to just shut-up and say thank you--no strings of "you really shouldn't have" attached.