Did you ever have a night where you felt alone? Have you ever gotten to the point where it feels like the darkness isn’t really going to lift?
I personally hate the dark. I’m not scared of it. I didn’t have to have a light on at night when I was little. Actually, trying to sleep with a light on is excruciating for me now! But if I wake in the middle of the night, the darkness is oppressive, unyielding, hopeless. I chalk it up to my love of the sun. But there may be more going on here.
Yesterday I was thinking about this concept of night and darkness and separation from the light. David popped into my mind. Yep, King David. The Bible’s resident musician, shepherd, fallen sinner, redeemed king!!
When I’m struggling and cry out to God, sometimes I feel so small, so unheard, and guilty for even bothering God Most High. The mere fact that I’m struggling means I’m in a place of emotional compromise, so my listening ears are askew.
But what if we’ve put extra breath in our hearts and souls for such a time as this? What if our listening heart is still working? This is how I think David lived. Look at Psalm 22:
1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
2 Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted in you,
and you rescued them.
5 They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you and were never disgraced.
Psalm 22:1-5 (NLT)
He’s crying out!!! He’s feeling abandoned, hopeless, restless. But look at that word “YET.” David declares the character of God. “They trusted in you and were never disgraced.” The NASB version says, “In You they trusted and were not disappointed.” That says sooooooo much. How many people can we trust in to not disappoint us?
This whole Psalm really speaks to my soul! Look at this verse:
I am poured out like water.
And all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax;
It is melted within me.
Psalm 22:14 (NASB)
Have you ever felt like that???
Here’s what I’ve learned in the midst of the Psalms of David. It’s OKAY to cry out!! It’s okay to tell God, “HEY!! Are you listening? Are you there? Are you going to rescue me out of this pit????” If you’ve been a believer for a long time, it feels wrong and shameful to say those words. But here’s the thing: When you verbalize those feelings, emotions, thoughts to the Lord, that’s when your listening heart kicks in.
The very next Psalm is David’s Shepherd Psalm. David heard the Lord even in the midst of his feeling of abandonment.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4 (NASB)
That is the comfort we can rely on in the middle of the night. When the darkness becomes overwhelming, His shepherding voice comforts us. We know He’s listening because His Word says it. We know that He has given us the Holy Spirit to comfort us. Sometimes the key to emotionally feeling that comfort is the crying, processing the grief, stating out loud to the Lord what we are feeling!
In this season of Thanksgiving, I’m soooo thankful for the Word of God which reminds us that we’re not alone. We’re not the only ones going through it. Even when our “going through it” looks different from others, we are not left alone. Just remember, the Psalms have life-breathing words that touch our listening heart!! Let’s fill our hearts, minds, and souls with them!
6 Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king.
He will answer him from his holy heaven
and rescue him by his great power.
7 Some nations boast of their chariots and horses,
but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
8 Those nations will fall down and collapse,
but we will rise up and stand firm.
Psalm 20:6-8 (NLT)
Blessings,
