O Lord, I cry out to you. I will keep
on pleading day by day. O Lord, why do you reject me? Why do you turn
your face from me? I have been sick and close to death since my
youth. I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors. Your
fierce anger has overwhelmed me. Your terrors have paralyzed me. They
swirl around me like floodwaters all day long. They have engulfed me
completely. You have taken away my companions and loved ones.
Darkness is my closest friend. Psalm 88: 13-18 NLT
Have you ever prayed so hard to God for
something and never received an answer? Have you ever been stuck in a
no-win situation and felt like God wasn't listening to your pleas for
help? Have you ever felt that God was so upset with you that you were
drowning in God's disapproval?
That is what is happening with the
psalmist. He has tried to bring his case before the throne but at
this point he has lost his hope. God has not just left him alone, God
has become angry and sent God's punishments to overwhelm him. No one
stands by him. He has been left in the dark, alone.
I suppose none of us want to admit that
we have ever lost our hope. That sounds unchristian to do so. We like
to think we have held on to our hope even in the darkest of days. But
I am sure that each one of us have had a moment or two like the one
the psalmist described. In fact, in those days it is actually
comforting to have our feelings expressed for us in scripture.
God, thank you for the psalms,
especially psalm 88. Thank you that your holy word can help us to
give vent to our feelings, even when we feel disloyal in having those
feelings. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Copyright 2012 Amelia G. Sims
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