DC Devotion: Psalm 20

 BY AIDEN REICHARD, AREA COORDINATOR AT ANDERSON UNIVERSITY

One of my favorite TV shows as a kid was Butch Hartman’s The Fairly OddParents. In this show, the main character, Timmy Turner, has magical fairy godparents that grant his every wish. Each episode follows the same sequence of events. Timmy experiences some sort of hardship or difficulty, he makes a wish to address the situation, and then everything is great until an unexpected problem arises as a result of that same wish. Timmy would experience hardship in some way, and when he acted on his own desires, the results were not always what he specifically wanted.

Now you may be asking what this has to do with Psalm 20. I honestly can’t blame you, but let me clear this up. We as human beings find ourselves in seasons of life where we feel like we are experiencing unnecessary hardships. We find ourselves making sacrifices as we struggle with our own distresses. This may look like trying to maintain our relationships, navigating life after losing a job or someone close to us, or just experiencing the difficulties of simply existing. There are times when we may just wish for something better for ourselves, and we question why we need to suffer so much when there is a God that can change everything instantly.

With Psalm 20, my mind immediately thinks of the concepts of trust and faith. I think they go hand in hand. In order to have faith, you need to trust God as you pursue a relationship with him. While I may have my own personal desires I’d rather see come to life, I must also recognize that I have a God who cares for me and fights for me when I call upon him. God recognizes these desires of our hearts, and remembers everything we go through as we learn to call his name and grow deeper in our relationship with him. This leads to victory for his anointed, as he answers our prayers in ways we didn’t even know they could be answered.

Anderson University educates students for lives of faith and service, offering more than 50 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 for excellence in business, computer science, cybersecurity, engineering, music, nursing, psychology, and teacher education programs. Established in 1917 in Anderson, Indiana, by the Church of God, the university remains committed to its Christ-centered mission.