What Does It Mean to Commit Your Spirit to the Lord?
May 12, 2023
1 Comment
What Does It Mean to Commit Your Spirit to the Lord?
By Brooke Holt
“Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.” Psalm 31:5
These words of David both challenge and encourage me today. For over a year now, my husband and I have been in a spiritual battle I could never have anticipated. We have faced opposition, rejection, slander, misplaced anger, betrayal, disappointment, and much more. It sounds a lot like David’s situation in Psalm 31. If you recall from yesterday, this psalm describes the time during King David’s reign in which his son, Absalom, stood against David and sought to overtake the throne of Israel. Some of David’s friends, advisors, and soldiers joined forces with Absalom. Just imagine David’s hurt and disappointment at this betrayal.
In this place of agony, David laid his heart out before the Lord. He honestly expressed his pain to the Lord as well as his trust in the Lord. In that place of pain, David finds a unique safety in the Lord that comes from surrender: “Into your hand I commit my spirit” (Psalm 31:5). David is saying he fully entrusts himself and his circumstances to the Lord. His trust is not in God doing a certain thing or relieving his pain. Instead, David is surrendered to the Father’s will while trusting that God has redeemed him and will continue to redeem his circumstances. I hear David saying to the Lord, “I trust you no matter what”.
If you read this passage from Psalm 31 again, you may remember another person in Scripture saying these same words: “Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said that, he breathed his last” (Luke 23:46). Jesus, in complete exhaustion and agony, commits his spirit to the Lord. He knows who he is, what he came to do, and he knew there would be ultimate victory through his death or as David wrote – redemption.
David and Jesus both knew the pain of betrayal; they experienced the disappointment in having friends falsely accuse and betray them; they felt physical, emotional, and spiritual agony. Though these people would turn against them, the Father never did. The Father never would.
These powerful words of David and Jesus are words we are invited to speak in our good times and our bad times. We, too, will have times when we feel betrayed and hurt by the people we love. We will feel the sting of death and all the pains of living in a fallen world. In these challenging times, can we express the faith of David; can we commit ourselves to the Lord, entrusting him to redeem us? In the misery this world can bring, can we look to God and remember that he is always faithful, always present, and always working out his plan of redemption?
My spiritual battle is still raging and maybe yours is, too. However, we know who fights with us and for us! Into your hand, O God, I commit my spirit!
Reflection:
O Lord, graciously lead us to this kind of surrender, a surrender that comes from the faith and knowledge of being your redeemed children. Keep our eyes on you, our hearts attuned to you, and our minds set on fulfilling your will. Amen We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Related Resource:
Our honest prayer before God is evidence that we understand the ways He loves, cherishes, sees, and hears us. Through prayer, we can acknowledge with Hagar, “You are the living One who sees me” (Genesis 16:14). When we pray, we are affirming the same. Why do we often hide from this privilege? Why do we avoid God, the One who sees us as we are and stands ready to provide and answer us in his holy, timely way? In this 8-week study on the prayers of Job, Ruth, Hannah, and David, grow your prayer life by facing your honest need and bringing your whole self before God. Acknowledging God as the One who guides your path can change your heart. It can take you past fear and into faith, strength, and hope. Learn more about Honest Prayer.
1 Response
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Michael Wedman
May 12, 2023
Brooke, thank you for having the courage to discuss your spiritual struggles. I pray daily that the Lord will help me believe in my unbelief and trust in my untrusting. I can feel spiritually empty at times. Your words have helped me see that surrender to the Lord’s plan is the only means for walking in the way everlasting. I pray for you and your husband during these times. Peace be with you!