Pastor's Circle - Jeffrey Klick

Jeffrey Klick is the Senior Pastor of Hope Family Fellowship. He joined the Pastor's Circle to discuss Psalms 20. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

What are your ruminations on this verse?

I look at this very first verse, and there's a couple of presuppositions there that we can run right by. In the very first verse, there's two suppositions. One, there is a Lord, and two, we will have trouble.

We tend to get all bent out of shape when troubles come, but they're anticipated. Jesus said we will have troubles, we will have trials, we will have pain.. There will be problems in each of our lives, so who are we clinging to?

Does the "battle" language play a part here?

Absolutely. If we really are in warfare, then it's not going to be pleasant. Sometimes we act as if we're having a picnic in the middle of the war.

As a pastor, I see people hurting in a variety of ways, from marriages breaking up to children going astray. It's important that we see a bigger picture, which is why I like the second half of this verse..

It's also interesting that of all the names God could have chosen to be put with, he used Jacob. Jacob wasn't exactly the greatest guy.

But if you let God redeem you, you can be useful.

What does it mean to be "set securely on high"?

If you follow through the rest of the Psalm, there is a wonderful word picture about running to the Lord.

The whole thing about running to the Lord is that the Lord is a rock and a fortress.

You don't need a fortress when there are no arrows flying at you. The storms of life are going to hit; we need something to stand on.

I think it's a picture of being safe even in the middle of the storm.

What are the implications of verse 7 as it relates to prosperity?

I think the Scripture is very clear on that. Most of us intensify our prayer life when we're in trouble.

When we're comfortable, it's very easy to drift and not keep our eyes on the Lord.

People can put their trust in power and prosperity, our in our case, America, but we have to remember to put our trust in God.