Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 142:1-7
Ps 142:1-7
1 I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. 2 I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble. 3 When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me. 4 Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. 5 I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” 6 Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. 7 Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.
As the Psalmist lifts up his cry of desperation we can feel his anguish of spirit and total dependence upon the Lord. He has looked around him for help but there is none. He has longed for someone to care but he is all alone. Yet, as he turns to God he finds the help in the time of need and comfort from the God of all comforts. He is not alone! God is with him all the time.
So it is today in our lives. There will be times that we feel alone, we feel as if no one cares about our plight or that nobody understand how we really feel. So often when someone is in grief from the loss of a loved one, after a few days and everyone else has gone back to their lives, they feel lost and alone. When one is diagnosed with a terrible disease, they are flooded with wellwishers but after a few days they are left alone to face the reality of it all. Where do we go?
It may be facing some great temptation in our life that has us down. We feel we have lost the battle and are overwhelmed because once again we have given in to that we know to be wrong. As Paul expressed it, we do that which we hate. How do we handle our lives when we are all alone and there seems to be no help?
As the Psalmist, we turn to God. We go boldly to the throne of grace to find mercy and grace and to find help in our time of need. His grace is always sufficient for our need. We then use our victory in Jesus to share his grace and help others in need, to comfort those in distress and lift up those who have fallen. We turn in praise to God for his goodness, his love and his mercy toward us.
O God, I thank you for your wonderful love, your matchless grace and your infinite mercy toward me. Thank you for helping me through so many things in my life. Thank you for giving me comfort when I have been distressed, health when I have been sick, material things when I was without and in need and love and companionship when I felt all alone. Thank you for giving me a wife that loves me, even when I am unlovable and who helps me live for you in a wicked world. Help me use all I have and am to help others. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
