Focus
Take a few minutes to push the “pause” button on whatever is going on around you and be still with God.
Read
Psalm 6 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
To the leader: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger,
or discipline me in your wrath.
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror.
My soul also is struck with terror,
while you, O Lord—how long?
Turn, O Lord, save my life;
deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love.
For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who can give you praise?
I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
My eyes waste away because of grief;
they grow weak because of all my foes.
Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
The Lord has heard my supplication;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror;
they shall turn back, and in a moment be put to shame.
Reflect
“Concocting a Plan”
We sat for hours discussing what needed to be done. Years earlier, we had felt the sting of death as one of our cousins succumbed to his addiction. Fortunately, his brother had beaten the that which had a hold on him and started a sober life of hope. But now, another cousin was struggling, a different struggle, yet just as painful. There we sat, concerned cousins, a distraught mother, a struggling sister, trying to concoct a plan that would help him get better.
All he wanted was to be accepted and loved by a father that all but abandoned him. He wanted to be shown that he was loved by the one person who turned his back on him when he was but a child. When you look into his eyes, you see the pain, the anguish, the hopelessness. No one can on earth can fill that void and neither could the alcohol. He knew we were trying, so he tried shutting us out.
We would like to think that life never gets that hard, that we would never get to a place that we something to numb the pain. But, even the writer of Psalm 6, knows it happens. The writer cries out from his agony and seeks the one place that hope is found – the creator of all life, God. He goes from acknowledging his “languishing,” to finding strength that God has heard him. I wish we could all move so quickly, but sometimes it takes time. Time for continued prayer and a belief that God truly loves us and cares. Because … God truly does.
Pray
God, help me! I don’t know where to turn for my struggles are real and I can’t find peace. Reach into the pain and ease my brokenness with your loving care. You are my only hope. Amen.
Go with God!
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