Monday, February 18, 2013
Where is God in the darkness?
Psalms 88:18 NLT
You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend.
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Jesus is the main character of all history. It was Jesus himself that revealed he was the key to understanding all the bible.
I've heard it suggested that we ought to consider that the Psalms may be more appropriately messianic prophecies rooted in King David's experience but more fully expressed in the life of Jesus. There are a few Psalms where it is easy to see that it describes the circumstances of the cross better than any thing David is recorded to have gone through. But it is easy to forget the link to Jesus when we read some of the Psalms and then we wonder what place it has in our daily life.
Jesus used the prophet Jonah's big fish saga to explain what his death would be like and maybe here we have a little hint of that too.
This Psalm is written before Jonah and before Jesus. But it foreshadows the judgement of sin that is bore by Jesus while on the cross and in death.
But don't stop there Jesus' has gone before and so we don't have to be judged but we will suffer in many ways as he did.
We will face rejection. We will be misunderstood. We may be oppressed and persecuted and some who follow Jesus will come against opposition so strong their own lives will be taken (only momentarily, for no evil can touch the soul.)
This is a dark Psalm and still we see the light within it :
It begins, "God of my salvation..." and then goes on to say that this individual so deep in despair is praying, crying out to God. No matter how low you feel, you can cry out to God, knowing he can save.
Yes it is true God judges sin but it is also true as this psalmist knew God is full of mercy, able to preform wonderful deeds, worthy of praise for His unfailing love, and he is entirely faithful.
See the lovely, uplifting, hope giving character of God can be found even at the darkest times. Praise is possible even in excruciatingly painful depression. Praise is what the psalmist sees as the reason for holding on to life. Will God's righteousness be your life line in your darkest hour?
Praise him and see the difference.
Repeat often the truth, he is good.
Our God is merciful, righteous, wonderful, just, faithful, and loving.
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Psalms 88:1-18 NLT
O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out to you by day. I come to you at night. Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry. For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near. I am as good as dead, like a strong man with no strength left. They have left me among the dead, and I lie like a corpse in a grave. I am forgotten, cut off from your care. You have thrown me into the lowest pit, into the darkest depths. Your anger weighs me down; with wave after wave you have engulfed me. Interlude You have driven my friends away by making me repulsive to them. I am in a trap with no way of escape. My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O Lord; I lift my hands to you for mercy. Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead? Do the dead rise up and praise you? Interlude Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love? Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction? Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds? Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness? O Lord, I cry out to you. I will keep on pleading day by day. O Lord, why do you reject me? Why do you turn your face from me? I have been sick and close to death since my youth. I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors. Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me. Your terrors have paralyzed me. They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long. They have engulfed me completely. You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend.
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