Me with my lovely wife, Kathy:

Thursday, April 7, 2022

Psalm 31: A Hard Journey for David and for Me


In so many of the Psalms, especially those of David, there is a raw—almost painful—honesty. I’ve been emphasizing Psalms in my devotions this year. I’m impressed anew with the openness of these prayers and songs of worship.



 Take Psalm 31 for instance. It came up in my reading for today. In verses 1-8, David utters a number of statements of dependence on and trust in the Lord.

·        

  •       He says he has “taken refuge” in the Lord (1).
  •        In verses 2-3, refers to God as a “rock,” “stronghold,” and “fortress.”
  •        He is confident of the Lord’s guidance and deliverance in verses 3-4.
  •        He commits his spirit to God’s keeping (5) and trusts in Him (6).
  •        He clearly aligns himself as standing on God’s side (6).

From these verses, one could get the idea that David is above it all, but we see something else appearing in verse 7. By the time we get to verse 9, it is an outright admission, “I am in distress.” When I go back and read those words of faith and affirmation in the light of the confession of verse 9 they take on a different character. I can hear a measure of desperation in David’s voice. He’s holding on by his fingernails. In verses 9-13, David pours out a description of his troubles, and they are troubling.

I’ve been there, living in the dissonance, seeking to hold onto what I know about God in the face of evidence that many hold up as proof that the Lord doesn’t care about me at all. We can turn to other portions of Scripture, particularly in the New Testament, that tell us about patience that comes from tribulation, refining of our spirits, and lessons of holiness learned in the school of pain, but let’s not go there too quickly. Let’s let the voice of the Psalmist, raw though it is, speak to our hearts. I need to take time to listen to the Holy Spirit’s stirring in my heart, asking, “Howard do you ever feel like that?”

“Yes, Lord, sometimes I do.”

“So, my son, what are you going to do about it?”

Beginning in verse 14, David begins his journey back toward daylight. His requests are consistent with the affirmations he made in the Psalms opening verses. Look where he comes out.

As for me, I said in my alarm,

“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;

Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications

When I cried to You.

             O love the Lord, all you His godly ones!

The Lord preserves the faithful

And fully recompenses the proud doer.

             Be strong and let your heart take courage,

All you who hope in the Lord.[1]

David expressed this whiplash-inducing journey in one brief poem. I suspect it took him longer to live it than to write it. I know it does me.

Lord, help me to come to the right conclusion.

 



[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ps 31:22–24). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

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