What God Does For Us

⁴ I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me.
      He freed me from all my fears.
 ⁵ Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
      no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
 ⁶ In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened;
      he saved me from all my troubles.
 ⁷ For the angel of the LORD is a guard;
      he surrounds and defends all who fear him.

 ⁸ Taste and see that the LORD is good.
      Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! 

-Psalm 34:4-8 (NLT)

Do you ever sit back and think about all that God does for you? If you have never done that, then try it sometime. Just sit in your recliner, in the quiet, and think about what God has done in and through your life. You'll be amazed. In this part of Psalm 34, I think maybe David just did that. He was going through trying times in his life, and I think he may have just thought about the things that God has done for him, and what He does for those who are His own. I've located three things, in these verses, that God does for those who belong to Him. 

• He Saves. Verses 4 & 6 says, "I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears...In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles." We see David praying, in his desperate times, he prayed to God. Look at what happens when we cry out to God in our desperate times. Verse 4 says he answered and verse 6 says the LORD listened. You can depend on God to always hear your prayers and answer you prayers. Look what God did for David as a result of his prayers. Verse 4 teaches "He freed me from all my fears." And verse 6 tells us, "he saved me from all my troubles." The Lord will both free you and save you from whatever is going on around you. Think about the things God has saved your from. Maybe take minute or two and write them down in a journal. Not so you can live in the regret of your past, but so you can see how God has worked, and what He has brought you through.
• He Keeps. Verse 7 reads, " For the angel of the LORD is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him." God keeps us safe in the times of trouble and trials. Jesus said in John 16:33 "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." Jesus warns us that we will have many trials and sorrows here on earth. But, through Jesus, we will have peace. Through Jesus we are kept safe, even when the storms of life are raging, even when everything around us is crashing down. Verse 7 says the angel of the LORD is a guard;. He keeps out the things that should not be there. The rest of the verse says, "he surrounds and defends all who fear him." All those who love God, those are the people the angel of the Lord surrounds and defends. In the list you made about the things that God saved you from, can you see how He protected you and kept you safe, in spite of what should have happened?
• He Satisfies. Verse 8 says, " Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! " The Lord satisfies those who come to Him, who live for Him. To those who take refuge in God, those are the ones that He saves, and He keeps. Have you "Taste and see that the LORD is good?" Have you came to Him and have taken refuge in Him?

Friends, you don't have to go through life alone. You don't have to face each trial and tribulation on your own. Come to God, take refuge in Him. Allow Him to worry about those trials and tribulations. Think About It.