Psalm 42:9-11 “O God my rock, I cry. Why have you forsaken me? Why must I wander in darkness, oppressed by my enemies? Their taunts pierce me like a fatal wound. They scoff, ‘Where is this God of yours?’ Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!” Few of us feel comfortable in lifting up our complaints and unhappiness to God. We believe somehow that God is too holy for us to approach in this manner. Yet, fully half of the Psalms are psalms of lament. How often do we access the psalms of lament for our personal devotion time, much less hear them read aloud in a worship service. Psalm 42 is a psalm of lament. The psalmist complains, remembers, asks for vindication, and then raises his complaint again. His tremendous grief causes him to assail God with both his anger and doubt: “Why have you forgotten me?” The psalmist has moved from spiritual thirst unquenched to the deluge of waves of trouble. Yet there is good news! The psalmist in all his agony remembers God’s faithfulness in the past. In the midst of life’s adversity, we can cry out to God, with all our anger and bitterness. God is ready and able to hear our cries. The psalms of lament can give expression to our anguish and guide us back to God. The God of our lives is one of steadfast love, whose song is forever with us. Disciplines
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 19:25:06 +0000
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