by Becky
REFLECTION
When our hearts are heavy and we are depressed and feeling hopeless, this psalm of David shows us what to do.
The psalm is a prayer to God. David begins by asking God to hear his prayer and he appeals to God’s faithfulness and righteousness, not to his own neediness. That doesn’t mean David isn’t (or that we aren’t) needy, but that God’s response to us flows from who He is, not from how much we need Him.
Look at the David’s description of his circumstances:
- He is acutely aware of his own unrighteousness, of all people’s unrighteousness and sin (2).
- He is pursued by an enemy (3).
- His life is crushed by that enemy (3).
- He sits in darkness, put there by the enemy (3).
- He feels hopeless (4)
- He feels fearful (4).
- His depression is getting deeper; he feels like he is dying (7).
- He doesn’t feel like he can hang on much longer (7).
Have you been there? I have. Usually my enemies are not other people. In fact, no matter who the enemy is, we have one chief enemy, Satan. Satan loves to keep me in a place without hope, looking at my circumstances.
What does David do when he is in that pit of depression and hopelessness?
- He cries to God; he prays (1).
- He meditates on what God has done in the past (5).
- He ponders God’s works (5).
- He expresses his longing for God, his need of God (like dry soil that needs rain) (5).
So the first thing to do when I am in that pit of fear and hopelessness is to turn my thoughts to God and pray to Him. I then discipline my mind to remember what He has done for me in the past, what He has done for His people in the past. I look around me at the world God has made. I look up at the stars that He created, at the birds, at the colors. I listen to music and thank God for harmony. I think about food and how wonderful it tastes – so much variety! In other words, I take the focus off me and my circumstances and try instead to focus on all God has given. That helps give some perspective.
But David doesn’t stop there. That’s not all we do to get out of that pit.
David asks God to show him His steadfast love in the morning (8). I love that. I love morning. I love meeting God then. David declares his trust in God (8,10). He tells God that he wants to obey Him. He asks Him to show him the way he should go, and asks God to teach him to do His will (8, 10).
We are here to do God’s will, not our own. If we ask for God’s help and guidance, but are unwilling to please him, to walk in the way He wants us to walk, then we are being self-centered. So it’s important to ask Him to remake our priorities.
I love hymns. There is a simple hymn by Benjamin Marshall Ramsey that I first sang in high school that speaks to this. If you want to listen to the tune, here is the link.
Teach me Thy way, O Lord, teach me Thy way!
Thy guiding grace afford, teach me Thy way.
Help me to walk aright, more by faith, less by sight;
Lead me with heav’nly light, teach me Thy way.
When doubts and fears arise, teach me Thy way;
When storms o'erspread the skies, teach me Thy way.
Shine through the cloud and rain, through sorrow, toil, and pain;
Make Thou my pathway plain, teach me Thy way.
Long as my life shall last, teach me Thy way.
Where’er my lot be cast, teach me Thy way.
Until the race is run, until the journey’s done,
Until the crown is won, teach me Thy way!
Hebrews 6 says that our hope, a “sure and steadfast anchor of the soul,” is based on who God is. God doesn’t change. God is righteous and therefore doesn’t lie. He is faithful and keeps His promises. We see so much more than David did. We see how God kept His word to all those saints in the Old Testament. He came in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ to rescue us from sin. I love that image of hope as an anchor. Hope in God gives us stability in the storms of life.
Psalm 143 ends in hope. God will destroy his servant’s enemies, even that great enemy, Satan (11). Just as He preserves our lives because of who He is, so God will lift up our souls from trouble. He does this for His own name’s sake (10). It is who He is.
If you are in a dark place right now, cry to the Lord just the way David did in this psalm.
Do you thirst for the LORD as parched soil thirsts for the rain? Do you want to walk in the LORD’s way , to do His will – or do you long for your own way?
PRAYER
When we are in that dark and scary place, without hope, help us to turn to you, LORD. You make yourself plain to us if we will only open our eyes and hearts. We praise you for your righteousness and faithfulness – that they anchor those who trust in you in hope. Show us the way to walk; teach us to do your will – for the sake of your name.
