|
Psalm 30:6-10 - As for me, I said in my prosperity, "I shall never be moved." By Your favor, O LORD, You made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face; I was dismayed. To You, O LORD, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: "What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it tell of Your faithfulness? Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!"
Some circumstances inspire confidence. During good times we sail happily along in life. Everything is moving smoothly with family, work, and finances. With the psalmist we exclaim in our prosperity, or at least something close to prosperity, "I shall never be moved!" We may even attribute our success to the blessings of God. Everything is going well and then, suddenly, nothing is right. We find ourselves stumbling through serious illness or grief. Family strife and financial issues become overwhelming. What happened? Has God turned away from us? Did He remove His hand of blessing from a life that seemed to be going so well?
In times like this the psalmist knows to whom he must turn, and he turns our hearts and our prayers in the same direction. We cry to the Lord and plead for mercy in a world that seems to be falling to ruin all around us. The psalmist prays that his downward slide would not end in death. Then he employs a little logic in his plea to the Lord: "What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit?" Will he be able to praise God when his body is decayed to dust? If he is dead, how can he witness to the Lord's faithfulness? We might not use that kind of argument in our prayers, but we understand the despair and desperation behind such a plea.
The psalmist cries out in dismay that the Lord has turned His face away. It is the dismay and despair that our Savior knew on the cross when, for a time, the Father hid His face from His Son. He abandoned His Son to the suffering of the cross so that we would be saved from sin and death. Jesus went down into the pit of death for us, but on the first Easter morning He was raised to life. Through faith in our crucified and risen Lord, we can be certain that God will never abandon us in days of fear or suffering. In His grace and steadfast love, He will always turn His face to us. Life in this world will be difficult, and we will have days of despair. Yet even in those days, we trust in Jesus, who will never turn away from us. In His Name, we can with confidence draw near to God's throne in prayer "that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).
WE PRAY: Lord, I know that You are my helper in good and bad days. You will never turn away from me. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.
Reflection Questions:
1. How can wealth and prosperity blind us to our need for God?
2. What should we remember—in good times or bad—about God and His love for us?
3. Why is our ability to draw near to God's throne in prayer worth more than anything in the world?
|
