1 Lord, hear my prayer! Listen to my plea!
2 Don’t turn away from me in my time of distress. Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly when I call to you.
3 For my days disappear like smoke, and my bones burn like red-hot coals.
4 My heart is sick, withered like grass, and I have lost my appetite.
5 Because of my groaning, I am reduced to skin and bones.
6 I am like an owl in the desert, like a little owl in a far-off wilderness.
7 I lie awake, lonely as a solitary bird on the roof.
8 My enemies taunt me day after day. They mock and curse me.
9 I eat ashes for food. My tears run down into my drink
10 because of your anger and wrath. For you have picked me up and thrown me out.
11 My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows. I am withering away like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, will sit on your throne forever. Your fame will endure to every generation.
13 You will arise and have mercy on Jerusalem— and now is the time to pity her, now is the time you promised to help.
14 For your people love every stone in her walls and cherish even the dust in her streets.
15 Then the nations will tremble before the Lord. The kings of the earth will tremble before his glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Jerusalem. He will appear in his glory.
17 He will listen to the prayers of the destitute. He will not reject their pleas.
18 Let this be recorded for future generations, so that a people not yet born will praise the Lord.
19 Tell them the Lord looked down from his heavenly sanctuary. He looked down to earth from heaven
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners, to release those condemned to die.
21 And so the Lord’s fame will be celebrated in Zion, his praises in Jerusalem,
22 when multitudes gather together and kingdoms come to worship the Lord.
23 He broke my strength in midlife, cutting short my days.
24 But I cried to him, “O my God, who lives forever, don’t take my life while I am so young!
25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain forever; they will wear out like old clothing. You will change them like a garment and discard them.
27 But you are always the same; you will live forever.
28 The children of your people will live in security. Their children’s children will thrive in your presence.”
"Seeing is believing."
Its a popular notion, but one that can lead to disaster. Unfortunately most of us cling religiously to it. Our view of life...and the world is restricted to what we see in front of us.
Listen to what he says about God. "For you have picked me up and thrown me out."
There's really no way to see this as a happy thought. But...it reveals an important dimension in King David's faith. David had the ability to recognize the difficulties in his life, the role God played in those troubled times, without blaming God.
Listen to him..."For my days disappear like smoke, and my bones burn like red-hot coals. My heart is sick, withered like grass, and I have lost my appetite. Because of my groaning, I am reduced to skin and bones." He continues..."My enemies taunt me day after day. They mock and curse me. I eat ashes for food. My tears run down into my drink because of your anger and wrath. My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows. I am withering away like grass."
We live in a culture where, at the first sign of trouble, people blame God. I have difficulty understanding this on a couple of levels. First...on a rational level...what it our basis for ever saying "it's God's fault?" I've never successfully connected those dots. Yet, I see it every day in the hospital where I work. A gentleman is dying of cancer and his wife is shaking her fist at God. I'll talk to another patient who hasn't been in church...or prayed...for 30 years because God disappointed him. The first question that comes to my mind is "how is that God's fault?"
The next question is..."who pays the highest price for that fractured relationship?"
The logic escapes me.
I also have difficulty with the practical value of blaming God. When we walk away from God we disconnect ourselves from the very power that may be able to influence the outcome of our troubled life. While we certainly have the right to make such a decision, it's counter intuitive. Years ago I had a friend with financial problems. His job paid minimum wage and he could barely make ends meet. He decided the job was the problem so he quit. The boss didn't miss a beat. He hired somebody else and life moved on. Of course, my friend now couldn't pay the rent, etc and his life went from bad to worse. He spent months looking for another job. meanwhile all his friends had to chip in to help him.
Was it worth it?
This is why David what such a spiritual giant...and why God was so gracious with him: In the midst of trouble David had a single response. "Lord, hear my prayer! Listen to my plea! Don’t turn away from me in my time of distress. Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly when I call to you." Of course, he probably wouldn't have done this if he thought his problems were God's fault to begin with.
He goes even further. He speaks about God's faithfulness with a confidence that would surprise most of us. By the time we've prayed for something a few times, we quit asking. We figure either God's not listening or he doesn't care. Either way...it's his fault. Not David.. He says "the Lord will rebuild Jerusalem. He will appear in his glory. He will listen to the prayers of the destitute. He will not reject their pleas. Let this be recorded for future generations, so that a people not yet born will praise the Lord. Tell them the Lord looked down from his heavenly sanctuary to hear the groans of the prisoners, to release those condemned to die. And so the Lord’s fame will be celebrated in Zion, his praises in Jerusalem."
Talk about faith. Hebrews 11:1-2 says "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for." Do you think David is one of those "ancients?" I'll bet.
The point is...faith accepts God for who He is...not what He does...even when we can't see any evidence of the activity we hope for.
And it is faith that engages God. It is faith that ultimately saves us.
Finally, David says to God "you are always the same; you will live forever. The children of your people will live in security. Their children’s children will thrive in your presence.”
The same God that I praised in better times...
Do I really have to see it to believe it?
Live boldly out there today...
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