October 11
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PLEADING GOD FOR DELIVERANCE DURING GRIEF
Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body also.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow and my years with sighing;
My strength has failed because of my iniquity,
and my body has wasted away.
11 Because of all my adversaries,
I have become a reproach, especially to my neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the slander of many, Terror is on every side;
While they took counsel together against me,
They schemed to take away my life. – Psalm 31:9-13
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In this psalm, we hear David’s depression and grief. David is so honest with God. He complains to God directly as he goes through the grief and weariness of dealing with his enemies. He intimately asks God in verse 9 to grant him grace because he is in so much distress. He describes in verse 10 how tired he was both in his mind, body and spirit but also acknowledges the fact that it was his sins that brought about this weariness. He knows how his neighbors disapprove of him and feels the pain of the rejection from them in verse 11. He likens himself to a dead man or a broken vessel. In verse 13, we hear David’s paranoia as his enemies slander him. It has brought much terror on his side, especially when they all plotted to kill him.
Isn’t it such a consolation to hear a man who is after God’s own heart plead and complain to God at the same time about his enemy’s plots that he is constantly exposed to? Why complain when God already knows anyway? The act of coming to God to plead for help in desperate situations exhibits humility. It shows that we are acknowledging a God who can be the only one who can deliver us from any kind of trouble. Even when we are panic stricken or rejected, the Lord wants us to come to Him. The more we are being attacked, the more He wants us to run to His arms like a child runs to his parent.
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REFLECTION
• Why is it okay to complain to God and not to humans?