My Times Are in Your Hand
Psalm 31:15a
Psalm 31:15a contains one of the most inspiring declarations of trust found in the Psalms: “My times are in your hand.” We do not know the exact circumstances the psalmist faced when he uttered these words. Psalm 31:4 suggests that certain unidentified enemies waited to trap him. To be sure, his foes not only worked treacherously and deceptively to ensnare him, they also sought to take his life (31:13). Whatever the circumstances he faced, the psalmist declared that his life was under God’s sovereign control.
Scripture contains many examples of believers who demonstrated this kind of profound trust in the Lord’s sovereignty over their circumstances. Some looked backward and saw God’s sovereign hand, others focused on the present, and still others looked forward. Nevertheless, all acknowledged God’s control. After Joseph revealed his true identity to his brothers (Genesis 45:3), he declared to them that all of his trials in Egypt had been part of God’s greater purpose for their family’s salvation (Genesis 45:5-8). In uttering these words, Joseph acknowledged that his life had been in God’s hand in the past. When Jesus cried from the cross, “Into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:45; Psalm 31:5a), he acknowledged that his life was in God’s hand in the present. Finally, when David fled Jerusalem to escape Absalom’s rebellion, he told Zadok the priest that if he found favor in God’s sight he (God) would allow him to return to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:25). With his words, David displayed a firm belief that his life would be in God’s hand in the future.
At times, believers forget this biblical truth and conclude that others, rather than God, control their circumstances. In turn, they seek to please people rather than God. Or, they live in constant fear of men, rather than reverent fear of God. If we are honest, at one time or another all of us have placed greater trust in the sovereignty of people rather than the sovereignty of God.
Another inappropriate response is to conclude that we, rather than God, control our circumstances. As a result, we attempt to take matters into our own hands, which may involve seeking to manipulate events, or even worse, attempting to control others. God help us from concluding that our destiny rests in our own hands.
Finally, a believer must keep in mind that merely taking the psalmist’s perspective does not make his hardships disappear. In other words, merely thinking biblically does not alter one’s situation. Nevertheless, when we acknowledge that our times are in God’s hand, we come to recognize him as the true Lord over and above all things – whether our trials, other people, or even ourselves.
Bryant– Lessons by Michael Bryant, assistant professor of religion at Charleston Southern University. Bryant has a B.S. in history from Charleston Southern and a Ph.D. in New Testament from Southeastern Seminary.