Tag: psalms

Psalm 142 – The Cry of Emotional Pain

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

crying face looking up

I cry out loud for help from the Lord.
I beg out loud for mercy from the Lord.
I pour out my concerns before God;
I announce my distress to him.
When my spirit is weak inside me, you still know my way.
But they’ve hidden a trap for me in the path I’m taking.
Look right beside me: See?
No one pays attention to me.
There’s no escape for me.
No one cares about my life.

I cry to you, Lord, for help.
“You are my refuge,” I say.
“You are all I have in the land of the living.”
Pay close attention to my shouting,
because I’ve been brought down so low!
Deliver me from my oppressors
because they’re stronger than me.
Get me out of this prison
so I can give thanks to your name.
Then the righteous will gather all around me
because of your good deeds to me. (CEB)

One of the reasons I love the psalms so dearly is that they are raw and real. There is no pretense with the psalmist. He opens his mind and heart and lets the genuine feelings of his life pour out in an offering to the God who bends his ear and pays attention to the humble and contrite. The proud and arrogant will forever be flummoxed by the psalms, not understanding why they are even in the canon of Scripture.

Yet, here they are, in Holy Scripture for all to experience. Whereas the piously insincere are continually putting up a false front of godliness and keeping up appearances of superior spirituality, here we have authentic religion right here in front of our faces. To me, the psalms liberate me from the shackles of trying to be someone I am not and enable me to connect with a God who encourages me in my wondering, my pain, my situations – and who is perfectly at home with crying aloud and shouting prayers to heaven.

Those who oppress others, I believe, are easy to spot: the only questions they ask are rhetorical to just make a point and are not really asking a question; they make faulty assumptions, and, so, think nothing of leveling false accusations; and, they have no curiosity to listen or learn – just a desire to make their own message known.

If such oppressors are the ones in power, then, it feels like being in prison with no ability to leverage a release. However, there is One who is always on the lookout for the oppressed and the needy who are raising their voices to heaven.

When no one else will listen because they are too smug in their delusions of rightness and strength, God hears and will advocate on behalf of those experiencing injustice and maltreatment.

Since God takes a posture of listening to those in need of mercy, this is precisely the disposition we are to adopt as people created in God’s image. The proud, convinced of their superiority, either cannot or will not see those languishing underneath power structures. For there is no space in the hearts of the proud to accommodate those who cry out on behalf of justice. The only recourse for the oppressed is God – and God will act with equity and with integrity.

It is not the oppressed who need our pity; it is the ungodly. The poor and the needy would like to show empathy – but that would take knowing another, which the oppressor has no stomach for. Systems of oppression keep people at a distance and turn a blind eye to the genuine screams of those under their boot.

The weak, the distressed, and the spiritually tired people on this fallen planet of ours very much have an appeal to the God who knows them and their situations. Although cries for deliverance may not happen immediately, we can be assured that divine help is forthcoming.

cave

This psalm was crafted by David in a cave before he was king. David was on the run from King Saul, who was trying to take his life. David was hiding and just trying to stay alive. There was nothing in David’s life in which he deserved such treatment. It was sheer jealousy on Saul’s end of things that caused him to give his soul over to oppressive pride. And David was the brunt of that oppression.

We know the end of the story. Saul is eventually killed in battle and David is exalted as the new king. Yet, here, in today’s psalm, we have the genuine cry of a desperate man who longed for the justice of God. One of the reasons David was a person after God’s own heart is that he exhibited humility and remained connected to God without succumbing to the bitterness of his situation. I would suggest strongly that David was able to keep his life free from pride because he regularly liberated his spirit through real and raw expressions of his emotions and experiences to God.

Spiritual confidence cannot be ginned-up through pretending that all is well, and everything is okay. Rather, spiritual courage is forged in the most awful of circumstances through real expressions of need and loud cries of emotional pain to the God who truly hears it all. Anyone who tells you different is flimsily trying to maintain their puny sense of delusional power. God sees you in the dark place and he hears your cry for mercy.

Lord Jesus Christ, by your patience in suffering you made my earthly pain sacred and gave me the example of humility. Be near to me in my time of weakness and pain; sustain me by your grace so that my strength and courage may not fail. Heal me according to your will. Loving Jesus, as you cried out on the cross, I cry out to you in my desperation. Do not forsake me. Grant me relief and preserve me in your perfect peace. Amen.

Psalm 119:105-112 – Light for the Journey

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Your Word is a Light

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet 
    and a light for my path. 
I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again: 
    I will obey your righteous regulations. 
I have suffered much, O Lord; 
    restore my life again as you promised. 
Lord, accept my offering of praise, 
    and teach me your regulations. 
My life constantly hangs in the balance, 
    but I will not stop obeying your instructions. 
The wicked have set their traps for me, 
    but I will not turn from your commandments. 
Your laws are my treasure; 
    they are my heart’s delight. 
I am determined to keep your decrees 
    to the very end. (NLT) 

Two qualities which stand out to me in these verses are the psalmist’s attitude and affection. This is a person who is determined to hold onto God’s Word because it is his heart’s delight. Yes, our attitudes and our affections are meant to be like a hand in a glove. It is our attitudes which help us to push through the pain to realize better days. And it is our affections which drive us forward, allowing us to experience joy in the present moment as we await our hope of ultimate deliverance. 

Commitments are fluid, always moving – which means they need to be continually rehearsed and refreshed. We are constantly either fulfilling our promises or reneging on them. There is really no such thing as a one-time vow. Commitments must have reinforcement from our attitudes and our affections. Otherwise, they languish on the trash heap of good intentions. This is one reason why the psalms are designed for constant use. 

It is important to have spiritually healthy habits ensconced in our lives well before any suffering and hard times roll in. If we have been nourished and supported by a daily sustenance of God’s Word, then we have both a breadth and a depth of robust theology to draw upon when the going gets rough. In addition, the sheer force of habit brings us back again and again to the treasure chest of divine instruction which informs our decisions and illuminates the treacherous road ahead. 

All the psalms are designed to reframe our own difficult situations. Even and especially when a person’s life hangs in the balance, we have the opportunity of viewing such hard and awkward circumstances through the window of the psalmist. Although circumstances change and we never quite know what to expect, God’s Word remains as our ballast and our rock. Divine love and morality are unchanging. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Spirit is always with us, through each wave of hardship. 

Life is a continual journey, an exploration into the unknown of the future. The path is shadowy and unclear. We are unsure of what is just around the bend. Yet, God’s Word is like a never-ending flashlight helping us navigate forward. Maybe Jesus had this psalm in mind when he said:  

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12, NRSV) 

In the Christian tradition, the Word is embodied in Jesus Christ so that he is both example and fulfillment of all God’s promises. Within today’s psalm, a sequence of four metaphors runs through these verses: my feet (light for my feet to walk in the way of God); my mouth (deliberate verbal commitment to God’s words); my hands (doing God’s will despite the circumstances); and my heart (desiring God’s decrees and commands).

With Jesus as Word and Light we have a constant companion walking alongside us for the journey; we have an intercessor who takes our wordy or malformed prayers and presents them before our heavenly Father; we use our hands by observing the Master who washed the feet of others; and, our hearts find their rest in the One who loved us and gave himself for us. 

In sum, our attitudes and affections are transformed into sustainable faith for the long journey; our hope is made sure through the promises of God; and, our love finds a resting place in the person of Jesus. Faith, hope, and love are the shoes which enable us to walk the long hard road uphill, as well as absorbing the shock as we run with abandon downhill – into the loving arms of God. 

soap

Let us come to Holy Scripture and liberally digest its life-giving message. I encourage you to find what works best for you in developing helpful spiritual habits. In reading the Bible, I often take the following approach using the acronym S.O.A.P…. 

Scripture 

  • Open your Bible and slowly, meditatively, read the portion of Scripture in your reading plan for today.
  • Write the reference of what you read in a journal along with the date.
  • As you read, ask God’s Spirit to highlight the verse(s) that speak to your life and write it in your journal.

Observation 

  • Make observations about what you just read and write them in your journal.
  • Think about: What is going on? What is the context?  Who are the people being spoken to? What is the background or setting for this verse?
  • Paraphrase and write this scripture down in your journal, in your own words.
  • What do you think God is saying to you in this scripture?

Application 

  • Personalize what you have read by asking yourself how it relates to your life right now.
  • Ask yourself how you can apply what you just read to your own life and write it in your journal.
  • Ask yourself how your life will be different or changed as a result of God speaking to you in this Scripture.

Prayer 

  • Write out a prayer to God in your journal.
  • Your prayer should relate to the verse that you highlighted. It could be asking for help, thanking God, etc. Write down what your heart desires to say to God in response to his Word.

May the words of your mouth, the meditations of your heart, the work of your hands, and the movement of your feet be to the glory of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Psalm 13 – How Long, O Lord?

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
The Scream by Edvard Munch
“The Scream” by Edvard Munch, 1893.

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I make decisions alone
with sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look at me! Answer me, O Lord my God!
Light up my eyes,
or else I will die
and my enemy will say, “I have overpowered him.”
My opponents will rejoice because I have been shaken.

But I trust your mercy.
My heart finds joy in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord because he has been good to me. (GW)

Faith is more than the mind’s affirmation of theological beliefs. Faith is also visceral, an expression from deep in the gut about what is going on around us. For faith to be truly faith it needs to hold the whole person, not merely the brain.

Today’s psalm is the reaction of a person of faith to God when the world as they knew it was crumbling and broken. This is a psalm of lament which moves and deepens the faith of the worshiper.

When the world around us changes and all seems horribly awry, we understandably become disoriented – we lose our normal bearings and feel confused and lost.

One of the simplest observations we can make about this psalm, along with all psalms of lament, is that, whether the content is ethically pure or not, the words of the psalmist directed toward God reflect the pain and agony of  people in the middle of world-shattering circumstances. In such dire situations, there are no simplistic answers or easy diagnoses of problems. Complicated layers of grief exist, and mere cerebral responses will always fall short of adequately being in the present moment, sitting with emotions, and getting in touch with the gut.

I am leery of folks who quickly affirm trust in God when a terrible event has just occurred. Bypassing the gut and the heart cannot bring a whole person response to that event and will inevitably result in a cheap faith which cannot support the immensity of the situation. Even worse, it leads to a bootstrap theology where people are expected to pull themselves up in a free-willpower way that is impossible to even do. Sometimes failure of faith comes not because of a person’s weakness but because the faith being espoused is not faith, at all.

Biblical faith expresses weakness, need, help, curiosity, and doubt with a healthy dose of emotional flavor and visceral reaction.

If we had just one psalm of lament as an example, that would be enough. In fact, we have dozens of them, with more sprinkled throughout Holy Scripture. We even have an entire book of the Bible, Lamentations, a deep reflection of the prophet Jeremiah’s grief.

So, let us now be honest with ourselves and each other. All of us, at one time or another, have given a cry of “How long, O Lord!” There are times when our prayers seem unheard and unnoticed, as if they only bounce off the ceiling and fall flat. There are hard circumstances which continue to move along unabated with evil seeming to mock us. We long for divine intervention, we long for deliverance, we long for healing – and when it does not come our disappointment and frustration boils over into an unmitigated cry of wondering where God is in all the damned thick crud.

When a person and/or a group of people are traumatized not once but over-and-over again, how can we not cry aloud, “How long, O Lord!?” When despair settles in the spirit, disappointment seeps in the soul, and depression becomes our daily bread, how can we not muster up the voice that yells, “How long, O Lord!?” When powerful people cause the lives of others to be downtrodden and despised, how can we not scream, “How long, O Lord!?” When the covert actions of others demean and denigrate, leaving us with private pain which no one sees, how can we not bring forth the words, “How long, O Lord!?” If you have never uttered this kind of wondering about God, then perhaps a profound disconnect with your own spirit exists.

A full orb faith names the awful events and sits with the feelings surrounding those events with God.

Psalm 13 is important because it gives us words when the bottom falls out of our lives and everything is upside-down. This psalm helps us admit that life is not as well-ordered as a simple Sunday School faith may pretend. The psalm acknowledges that life is terribly messy, and the psalmist protests to heaven that this quagmire of injustice is plain unfair. What is more, this psalm helps move the sufferer to a new place.

God is big enough to handle everything we throw at him — our pain, our anger, our questions, our doubts. Genuine biblical faith is comfortable challenging God. And God is there, listening, even if we cannot perceive it. Just because we might need to endure adversity does not mean there is something wrong with us, or God.

We likely will not get an answer to our “how long?” We will get something else: mercy. Mercy is compassion shown to another when it is within one’s power to punish. If we widen our horizon a bit, we will observe a God who cares:

“The Lord isn’t slow to keep his promise, as some think of slowness, but he is patient toward you, not wanting anyone to perish but all to change their hearts and lives.” (2 Peter 3:9, CEB)

The only thing better than the joy of personal salvation is the joy of many people’s deliverance and collective emancipation. Patience, perseverance, and endurance through hardship will require expressions of faith with words of affirmation, along with words of agony. The psalms help us with both.

Lord God Almighty, I pray for the forgotten and the unseen – the stranger, the outcast, the poor and homeless – may they be remembered and seen by you.

Merciful God, I pray for those who struggle with mental illness, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation – may there be resources to help, enough staff employed, and finances given, toward mental health services. May there be basic human kindness available for the hurting.

Compassionate God, I pray for those who wrestle with sorrow – may they know your comfort within the dark thoughts which currently seem to triumph.

Attentive Lord, I pray for the crestfallen and the ones considered fallen by those around them – may they receive your restoration and reconciling grace. Protect them from judgment and shield them with your mercy.

Lord of all creation, I trust in your steadfast love and rely upon your infinite grace. May our tears turn to songs of joy, to the glory of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Psalm 86:1-10 – Call and Response

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

storm clouds and person

Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all day long.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my cry of supplication.
In the day of my trouble I call on you,
for you will answer me.

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours.
All the nations you have made shall come
and bow down before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God. (NRSV)

What is your view of God?  For some, God is up there, somewhere, like some white-bearded old guy who is aloof to what is going on down here – there is neither anything personal nor personable about him, at all.  For others, God is a force which binds all things together; he is there, but you’re never quite sure how to get in touch with him – it’s like a crap shoot trying to connect with him. For yet others, God is perpetually perturbed about something; he’s got a bee in his bonnet and it’s our job to figure out what he’s sullen and upset about all the time so that we might appease him in some way.

The psalmist, David, sees God in wholly other ways than all the aforementioned. For David, God is personal, knowable, and very reachable. Reading this psalm tells us a great deal of how David thought about God. Notice what we learn about God from the way David describes him: good and forgiving; abounding in steadfast love; listens and answers; and, does great and wondrous things.

Now this is a God you can sink your teeth into. He is attentive, engaged, and is anything but upset all the time.  This is the reason why David has no problem asking God to listen and answer his prayer. David put his trust in God to save him and make his heart glad. With this kind of God, David can willingly affirm his devotion.

If your view of God cannot support and bear the weight of your life’s hardest circumstances, then you need a different view of God! I invite you to see the God of David. This God has the ability within himself to satisfy your life’s greatest needs. We call out in our misery. God responds in his love and mercy. With God, we can move from trouble to confidence.

Great God of David, you are above all things and beside all things and with all things. You are uniquely positioned and powerful to walk with me through all the situations of my life. Thank you for sending the Son of David to make real your promises to me.  Amen.