Psalm 31 Devotional

Into Trustworthy Hands

“Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.”Psalm 31:5 (BSB)

Psalm 31 is a prayer of complete entrusting. David takes refuge in the LORD and commits his spirit into God's hands, calling him the God of truth who has redeemed him (31:5). The trust is not abstract. Grief has worn down his body, his neighbors treat him with contempt, friends avoid him in the street, and he feels forgotten like a broken pot (31:9-12).

In the middle of it all he says the simplest thing: the LORD is his God, and every season of his life rests in God's hand (31:14-15). On the cross, Jesus prayed the words of verse 5 as he breathed his last (Luke 23:46). He entrusted himself to the Father in the darkest hour, and the Father raised him. Because of that, the goodness God has stored up for those who fear him is not wishful thinking (31:19). The psalm ends by urging all who hope in the LORD to be strong (31:24). Your life, too, can be placed in hands that have already proved faithful.

To think about: What part of your life could you deliberately commit into God's hands today, as Jesus did on the cross?