When Hard Times Hit

Read: Joshua 21-22 & Psalm 22

“O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer and by night, but I find no rest.” Psalm 22:2

Examine:

This Psalm is a song of person who is suffering greatly for unjust reasons. It is a lament to God over the pain being caused by others and the torment created by God’s lack of intervention.

Apply:

As I read this Psalm I see three things to model when hard times hit me in the stomach. First, I need to be historical and futuristic. It is tempting to allow the pain of the present to steal the praise of my past. I need to return to the great things that God has done for me in my past, praise Him for them, and then set my eye to the future knowing that my present pain will not be my permanent station in life.

I also need to be honest with God but holdfast to my respect for Him. Throughout the Psalm the singer pleads the honest feelings of his heart to God but he always maintains a deep sense of respect for God. It seems like when things go bad I either withdraw from God or lash out at Him. Neither of these are healthy. I need to let God know that feel disconnected from Him but do so while maintaining my deepest respect of Him.

Finally, I need to be realistic but hopeful. It makes no sense to deny reality. When times get rough, as they often do, I have to acknowledge them to be what they are. It is healthy to be realistic and transparent about what is going on with me. At the same time, I need to be careful to not slip into depression. My hope is in the Lord and He will always come through in the end.

Prayer:

Jesus, my soul is very heavy today. The weight of all that we are facing right now at times becomes overwhelming for me. Something in my journey shifted in December and has felt like a dogfight since that day. There are mornings I wake up and struggle to hold firm. Your presence has felt inconsistent and the stripping away of my pride and sin has been more painful than anything I have ever experienced. Trouble literally awaits me at every turn. Many days have left me feeling like I am trying to plug a hole in a ship with nothing more than a roll of paper towels. Even this past week there have been moments when I felt like everything I touched with my hands fell apart. This fight has left me feeling fatigued and weak.

In the midst of it all I am held together by the reality that I can’t walk away from You. Where else would I go? What else could I do? I am where I am because I have followed what I felt to be Your voice and direction. You directed my steps and led me to attack some vicious strongholds of our enemy. To retreat would be unthinkable and to move forward without Your strength, power, and protection would be nothing short of disaster.

Keep my emotions in check today. I pray that You remind me today where my help comes from. I ask that You intervene in my life today in a way that restores my strength, fuels my hope, and affirms my faith. I pray that this day does not pass without leavening me awestruck by the glory of God given to me by You.