DC Devotion: Psalm 5

 BY PRESTON RITZMA, CURRENT STUDENT AND LEAD DC AT ANDERSON UNIVERSITY

Have you ever felt at a distance from the Lord? I, along with many of you, all have felt this quite frequently. David begins this ssalm with an outcry to God, begging him to listen to his prayers. How do we bridge this gap that separates us from the Lord? David proclaims these sins and evils that God abhors, showing us what brings enmity between us and God. How many lies have you told in the past week? How many times have you had a prideful thought? David says, “Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness…” There is a connection here between separation and sin, and the opposite of that, the thing we should strive for would be closeness and righteousness. It is difficult to simply remove the sinful acts. They must be replaced with something that is of God. David says in verse 11, “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice, let them sing for joy…” Replace rather than subtract. If we increase in our worship, in our outpour of thanks to the Lord, David says that we will be blessed, that the Lord will cover us with his favor “as with a shield” protecting and preserving us. Let us strive to increase our worship, whatever that may look like, so that we may remain joyful in all that life may throw at us, being protected by that shield from the Lord.

Anderson University is on a mission to educate students for lives of faith and service, offering more than 60 undergraduate majors, 30 three-year degrees, 20 NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports, alongside adult and graduate programs. The private, liberal arts institution is fully accredited and recognized among top colleges for its business, computer science, cybersecurity, dance, engineering, nursing, and teacher education programs. Anderson University was established in 1917 in Anderson, Indiana, by the Church of God.