Reflection to Insight

Recently I was reading in Psalm 69:8-18, where King David is crying out to God about the hardship he is facing. People are turning against him, and the things they say to slander him cause great pain to him. He feels swallowed up and overwhelmed by everything, and he wants relief.

Psalm 69:14 (NIV) – “Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters.”

He doesn’t want his circumstance to completely overtake him, and he sees the weight of what lies in front of him.

Psalm 69:15 (NIV) – “Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me.”

Lately life has been throwing a lot of challenges my way, and similar to King David, I’ve found myself worn down by the weight of some things outside my control.

It’s taxing, and sometimes feels very hopeless. I get angry, wishing the struggle and pain would quit. That I could catch a break and step into circumstances that are less stressful.

I try to put one foot in front of the other, pushing onwards to fight the good fight. But some days, it’s harder than others.

As I continued to study this chapter, I found hope in the process King David was implementing. Though he was in distress and trouble, he didn’t fall deeper and deeper into his depression and give up. His response was to call out to God and ask for His help.

He acknowledged his pain and didn’t pretend it wasn’t there. He quickly surrendered it to the Lord, trusting Him to make it better.

Psalm 69:16-18 (NIV) – “Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me; deliver me from my foes.”

When we’re in trouble, believing that Jesus has our back allows for a mindset shift. Though circumstances are hard, if we believe that He is our provider and protector, it brings hope to our valley. Allowing us to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Guys, I’ll be honest. Some days I feel like I’m just barely making it through the day with all of its responsibilities. Simply holding on by a thread.

Maybe some of you can relate to this feeling. Maybe you’ve had something, or some things, going on that are extremely difficult. You’re frustrated, and you want relief. You’re trying to go about things the right way, but you feel as though it’s an uphill battle. That you aren’t getting anywhere, and you’re stuck no matter what you try and do.

I understand. Though we may be experiencing different things, I feel your pain, and I can relate.

My encouragement to you though, is that we learn from Kind David. And like him, we cry out to Jesus, surrendering our struggles to Him. Believing that He does love us, and He will bring deliverance.

Psalm 69:19 (NIV) Brought me a lot of comfort too, as it says, “You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; in your great mercy turn to me.”

Jesus knows our pain. He sees everything we are going through, and He is with us in it. It hurts Him to see us hurting. He wants to help us out of the mess. And if we trust Him and turn to Him with our pain, He will guide us out and comfort us.

We just have to be willing to surrender to Him, and not try and fix things in our own pride and desperation. If we do that, we run the risk of making things worse and even more painful. It’s better to just lift our hands and give it to God. He knows what is best. If we trust in His love, mercy, provision, and care, we won’t regret it.

I hope this could be an encouragement to you for anything you may be facing right now. Life is hard. We go through seasons of great joy and rest. But other times things get dark and very painful.

Just know that you aren’t alone, and that Jesus loves you. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. We just have to press forward with the Lord. He is faithful and loving, and He won’t let us down.

I hope you all have a blessed day, and I’ll catch you later. Peace out.