Devotional Tuesday: Psalm 6
Hold on in trials. Turn O Lord!
Psalm 6 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.3 My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O Lord—how long?4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?6 I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.7 My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.9 The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord accepts my prayer.10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
Like many of us, David in times of prayer chooses to reach out to God in his most desperate of moments. Calling out to God, David pleads with God for mercy. His plea—like our own—only intensifies with progress. “From rebuke” to “discipline”… From “anger” to “wrath.”
Yet, the beauty of the Psalms is the miraculous provision and transformation of God.
Psalm 6, like many other Psalms, starts with pain and devastation but ends with victory and hope.
3 My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O Lord—how long?4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
From trouble to faith…
Where does this faith come from? David is no stranger to hardship. More than likely, David has seen more trouble than we have. From fighting animals to having his King attempt to kill him, from a son attempting to steal his throne, to God punishing him harshly for his grave sin… David has gone through many trials.
Today, due to many blessings in our lives, we have become drastically uncomfortable with trial and suffering. The earliest appearance of discomfort pushes us to evaluate our options promptly to stabilize our lives as quickly as possible.
As a result, many Christians are quick to question or doubt God when difficulty comes. This is not often done out of a lack of faith, but rather, a conditioned response derived from the conditioning of a prosperous and commercialized society.
We have much to learn from the trusting psalmist who in the majority of trials cries out vulnerably to God, but never loses faith or hope in the God who is able to hold our emotions, frustrations, doubt, and growing faith.
When our soul is troubled, we need to be reminded of where our deliverance comes from… It comes not from our prayers, goodness, or trust. Rather, it comes from the sovereign, covenant, steadfast love of God.
Our salvation is found in God’s love which he pours out for his own sake. We do not earn nor deserve it. He simply wants to pour it out.
When you are greatly troubled, hold on in faith and know that God will deliver you. He does so because it is his desire and for his own sake, he will do it.
He has heard your prayer—your plea. He will fight for you!