As For Me, I...
As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Psalm 55:16 KJV
I was recently teaching on Psalm 55 when I came across a phrase that caused me to pause and consider its depth and importance. The phrase was, “As for me, I…” It doesn’t seem very significant as it is simply a phrase of declaration of intent, but that is exactly what made me pause and consider its importance.
Psalm 55 begins with King David pouring out his heart before God. He tells of the pain, fear, and sorrow he is facing on a daily basis because of the voice and oppression of those who have risen up against him. He then goes on to say that it is especially painful because those that are rising up against him are not the enemies of Israel, but those he once fellowshipped with in the house of God.
For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. Psalm 55:12-14 KJV
Within these verses detailing King David's situation, there are certainly Messianic foreshadows of what Yeshua [Jesus] would also endure at the hands of His “friends” like Judas and the Jewish leaders of His day.
I have learned over the years that satan and his kingdom focus on attacking two primary units because, within these two units, an individual is supposed to find the safety and affirmation we were designed to have in order to function correctly.
Those two units are the biological family and the Body of Messiah.
And more than likely, as a believer, and as someone who is a pillar of truth, you will be reproached in both of these units. Maybe it happened in childhood, maybe it has happened as an adult, or maybe it has happened both as a child and an adult, but nevertheless, it is where satan tries to do the most harm because it is within these relationships that the most long-term damage can be accomplished. But this insight is not why I am writing today.
I want to get back to the phrase, “As for me, I…” No matter what happens to us in life, or what situations or circumstances we encounter, they all demand a response. We can either be passive in that response, and let the feelings, circumstances, and situations overwhelm us OR we can be proactive in our faith and decide how we will respond based on the Word of God.
“As for me, I…” represents how we will respond, taking personal responsibility and personal accountability for the decisions we make and the actions we take. In Psalm 55 King David has just been betrayed and yes he pronounces what he thinks would be a just judgment for the one betraying him in verse 15, but then he takes personal responsibility for how he will respond by saying, “As for me, I will call upon God”.
It doesn’t matter if it is something as serious as betrayal or feeling overloaded at work. You may hear others around you complaining, gossiping, or see them running to evil, but a son or daughter of God, a pillar of truth will say, “As for me, I…” and whatever follows would represent the will of the Lord.
“As for me, I…” is actually just one short Hebrew word, “aniy” (pronounced in Hebrew ah-nee). In the Hebrew language when the word “aniy” is appended to a verb, it expresses a strong emphasis on the intent of action. So in Psalm 55:16, King David, in the midst of his pain, fear, and sorrow made a decision and emphatically stated what he would do. He will call upon God, and his expectation is that God will save him.
I see that oftentimes even as believers, people who want to stand and do God’s will no matter what, still wait for things to “seem” right and “feel” right before we take action. Or we feel like because we are doing the will of God and have set ourselves to do so, but don’t “feel” right or the situation still has not changed we must be doing something wrong. The saving and changing part is God's part, our part is to be able to say in the midst of whatever difficult circumstance, whether it be external pressures or internal temptations, that, “As for me, I will do the will of God”. It may mean calling upon God like David did in this psalm, it may mean holding your tongue, it may mean facing a fear, or something else.
Most importantly, “As for me, I…” represents the ultimate freedom. Personal responsibility is freedom. It means that you do not have to stay the victim of someone else’s words or actions. It means you decide what and who you will believe, what the long-term effects of another's sin against you will be or not be, and your personal intimacy with God. It is comforting to know that even though other people’s actions can have negative effects on your life, you always have the freedom to say that is not the end of the story, “As for me, I will call upon God”.
Is there a circumstance or situation in your life that you need to stand up and emphatically say, “As me for, I…”? Perhaps you are in a situation where you feel like you are drowning and there is no way out. I don’t want to oversimplify the issue, but have you taken the time to look back and examine if at any point you said something to the effect of “As for me, I…”? Maybe that is a good place to start if you have felt stuck for a while.
Remember, the Hebrew word our ministry is named after is Ammudim. This means “pillars” in Hebrew and our mission is to help God’s people be pillars of truth. If we are going to continue to be pillars, we all need to learn and continually be reminded to say, “As for me, I”
I was recently teaching on Psalm 55 when I came across a phrase that caused me to pause and consider its depth and importance. The phrase was, “As for me, I…” It doesn’t seem very significant as it is simply a phrase of declaration of intent, but that is exactly what made me pause and consider its importance.
Psalm 55 begins with King David pouring out his heart before God. He tells of the pain, fear, and sorrow he is facing on a daily basis because of the voice and oppression of those who have risen up against him. He then goes on to say that it is especially painful because those that are rising up against him are not the enemies of Israel, but those he once fellowshipped with in the house of God.
For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. Psalm 55:12-14 KJV
Within these verses detailing King David's situation, there are certainly Messianic foreshadows of what Yeshua [Jesus] would also endure at the hands of His “friends” like Judas and the Jewish leaders of His day.
I have learned over the years that satan and his kingdom focus on attacking two primary units because, within these two units, an individual is supposed to find the safety and affirmation we were designed to have in order to function correctly.
Those two units are the biological family and the Body of Messiah.
And more than likely, as a believer, and as someone who is a pillar of truth, you will be reproached in both of these units. Maybe it happened in childhood, maybe it has happened as an adult, or maybe it has happened both as a child and an adult, but nevertheless, it is where satan tries to do the most harm because it is within these relationships that the most long-term damage can be accomplished. But this insight is not why I am writing today.
I want to get back to the phrase, “As for me, I…” No matter what happens to us in life, or what situations or circumstances we encounter, they all demand a response. We can either be passive in that response, and let the feelings, circumstances, and situations overwhelm us OR we can be proactive in our faith and decide how we will respond based on the Word of God.
“As for me, I…” represents how we will respond, taking personal responsibility and personal accountability for the decisions we make and the actions we take. In Psalm 55 King David has just been betrayed and yes he pronounces what he thinks would be a just judgment for the one betraying him in verse 15, but then he takes personal responsibility for how he will respond by saying, “As for me, I will call upon God”.
It doesn’t matter if it is something as serious as betrayal or feeling overloaded at work. You may hear others around you complaining, gossiping, or see them running to evil, but a son or daughter of God, a pillar of truth will say, “As for me, I…” and whatever follows would represent the will of the Lord.
“As for me, I…” is actually just one short Hebrew word, “aniy” (pronounced in Hebrew ah-nee). In the Hebrew language when the word “aniy” is appended to a verb, it expresses a strong emphasis on the intent of action. So in Psalm 55:16, King David, in the midst of his pain, fear, and sorrow made a decision and emphatically stated what he would do. He will call upon God, and his expectation is that God will save him.
I see that oftentimes even as believers, people who want to stand and do God’s will no matter what, still wait for things to “seem” right and “feel” right before we take action. Or we feel like because we are doing the will of God and have set ourselves to do so, but don’t “feel” right or the situation still has not changed we must be doing something wrong. The saving and changing part is God's part, our part is to be able to say in the midst of whatever difficult circumstance, whether it be external pressures or internal temptations, that, “As for me, I will do the will of God”. It may mean calling upon God like David did in this psalm, it may mean holding your tongue, it may mean facing a fear, or something else.
Most importantly, “As for me, I…” represents the ultimate freedom. Personal responsibility is freedom. It means that you do not have to stay the victim of someone else’s words or actions. It means you decide what and who you will believe, what the long-term effects of another's sin against you will be or not be, and your personal intimacy with God. It is comforting to know that even though other people’s actions can have negative effects on your life, you always have the freedom to say that is not the end of the story, “As for me, I will call upon God”.
Is there a circumstance or situation in your life that you need to stand up and emphatically say, “As me for, I…”? Perhaps you are in a situation where you feel like you are drowning and there is no way out. I don’t want to oversimplify the issue, but have you taken the time to look back and examine if at any point you said something to the effect of “As for me, I…”? Maybe that is a good place to start if you have felt stuck for a while.
Remember, the Hebrew word our ministry is named after is Ammudim. This means “pillars” in Hebrew and our mission is to help God’s people be pillars of truth. If we are going to continue to be pillars, we all need to learn and continually be reminded to say, “As for me, I”
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