Their Faces Were Radiant
“I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”
— Psalm 34:2-5 (NIV)
This psalm carries a note saying when it was written. David was running from a king and saved himself by pretending to be insane. A song of thanks came out of that, not a story about courage. The line about radiant faces is about people who looked at God and lost something from their expression. It does not say they stopped being afraid. It says they stopped being ashamed.
There are days when nothing large happens and there is nothing to report. Those are the days when it is easiest to miss that something did go right. David gave thanks for getting out of a situation he had made himself ridiculous in. He was not thanking God for a story he could tell well.
Thank God for Something You Are Not Proud Of
- 1Write down three things from the last week that went right, however small.
- 2Say one of them out loud to another person and thank God for it.
God, thank You for the things I did not even notice. For having food and somewhere to come back to. For the people who spoke to me today. Please teach me to see those faster than I see what is missing.
I can thank God for today before I ask for tomorrow.
When was Psalm 34 written?
Its heading places it after David escaped a king by pretending to be insane. The thanksgiving comes out of an episode he could not be proud of.
Does it promise an end to fear?
No. It says he was delivered from his fears, and that those who look to God stop being covered with shame. Shame and fear are not the same thing.
Who are the afflicted in verse 2?
In the psalm they are the ones meant to overhear the thanks and take heart from it. The song is sung where they can hear it.