30 As for God, His way is [n]blameless;
The word of the Lord is tried;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God,
32 The God who girds me with strength
And [o]makes my way [p]blameless?
33 He makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And sets me upon my high places.
34 He trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your right hand upholds me;
And Your [q]gentleness makes me great.
36 You enlarge my steps under me,
And my [r]feet have not slipped.37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back until they were consumed.
38 I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise;
They fell under my feet.
39 For You have girded me with strength for battle;
You have [s]subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
And I [t]destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was none to save,
Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.
Indeed, “who is a rock, except our God?” There are a lot of things people put their hope in, money, houses, careers, even the government. Yet they all disappoint, the market crashes, new politicians get elected, employers announce layoffs, and we’re left wondering what happened.
Yet David knew that God could “set me upon my high places”. With God’s strength, we can rise above it all. Not that we are unaffected by life’s sorrows, but with God on our side, we fear no evil in this world, for nothing can take us out of God’s hands.
As Paul would later write, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
God doesn’t just set us on high places above all the trouble, He is our high place and our refuge. He makes us able to withstand all the troubles of this world, and come out the other side with joy and peace that this world does not know or understand. Not because the trouble is any less troubling, but in good part due to a shift in perspective. Believers can, and many have, faced death itself without flinching, because it is not the end, and the future is so much brighter than anything we will endure in this mortal body.
Our hope and our future is an eternity with our Creator–not just some mythical heavenly place, but He is our destination because that is our heart’s true longing. With our heart full to overflowing with His salvation, we can rise above it all, as the storm and tempests rage, and say “Your right hand upholds me, and my feet have not slipped.”