Secure on solid ground

Light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him, " lest my foes rejoice since I am shaken.

Key points

• After graduation from The London School of Theology, he served eight years in Scotland at both Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh and Hamilton Baptist Church.
• Third Gulf of America oil and gas lease sale pulls in almost $83 million in high bids.
• Though the feelings of his heart were real, David chose to bring his emotions under the jurisdiction of God's character and purposes.
• There is no one you will meet today who does not need Jesus' support, and no one whom Jesus cannot assist.
• As God's child, you can boldly come before your Father, trusting Him to accomplish all you need and all you ask that is in accordance with His will.

When you go on a camping trip, one of the most significant things you can do is produce sure that your tent pegs are hammered securely into solid ground. Once that step is complete, you can go regarding other activities with a greater peace of mind, knowing that your shelter will weather a storm-which certainly beats the alternative of coming back to a campsite and seeing that your tent has blown away!

In this verse, David is responding to feeling forgotten and disappointed in life, and being unfairly resisted by others around him. He begins by applying his mind to the situation; recalling what he already knows, David declares his trust in God's faithful love.

This trust was volitional. Though the feelings of his heart were real, David chose to bring his emotions under the jurisdiction of God's character and purposes. He staked his hope-the tent pegs of his heart-in the solid ground of God's steadfast love and unfailing mercies. Only then could he rejoice once again.

In the new heaven and new earth, life's storms will finally be stilled. In the meantime, we will pass through squalls and even deluges. We will endure with joy to the extent that we trust that our Father is wise. When He does not offer us something, it's as He knows it's better for us not to have it. When He entrusts us with something hard to accept, it's since He is giving us the privilege of bearing testimony to His grace in that circumstance. When He leads us through the rain, it is since He knows it will cause us to cling closer to Him and cause our character to become more conformed to His (James 1: 2-4).

When we look at the shattered remnants of our most trying experiences, it often seems as if collapse is imminent. But in those moments, we can remember that God exchanges "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Isaiah 61: 3, KJV). As with David, it is God's steadfast love that secures our souls and gives us reason to delight in His salvation, each trial we face is an opportunity to remind ourselves that.

Today, the call to each of us is to say, "Lord Jesus Christ, help me to have the tent pegs of my life staked securely in Your steadfast love, so that in life and death, in joy and sorrow, in sickness and health, I might rejoice." <!– AddToAny script (best before) –>.

Alistair Begg has been in pastoral ministry since 1975. After graduation from The London School of Theology, he served eight years in Scotland at both Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh and Hamilton Baptist Church. In 1983, he became the senior pastor at Parkside Church near Cleveland, Ohio. He has written a number of books and is heard daily and weekly on the radio program, Truth For Life. His Daily Devotionals are presented here via a syndication agreement. A study of abortion contrasts – Massachusetts vs. Mississippi. Massachusetts needs to be more pro-life. But so do we.

He died to create us good.

As God's child, you can boldly come before your Father, trusting Him to accomplish all you need and all you ask that is in accordance with His will. Pike County EMA recognized for incident response leadership. New Director coming to Port Pascagoula. Marathon Cheese expanding in Booneville, creating 39 jobs. Signet Maritime refinances debt, receives federal small shipyard grant funding.

Third Gulf of America oil and gas lease sale pulls in almost $83 million in high bids. The Lumber Manufactory bringing 50 jobs to New Albany with new sawmill. Mont Helena still stands: Love, loss and a Mississippi Delta landmark. Culture Eric Olson, Associated Press August 17, 2026. Ole Miss ranked 9th in AP preseason Top 25. The Mississippi that welcomed my family. How Hamas' attack on Israel is transforming American politics.

Taken together, the developments around secure on solid ground point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.