DON’T LET YOUR TEARS BLUR YOUR VIEW OF GOD!

Can a person who knows God really be in this kind of despair? 

Will God be offended by it? 

Does it expose lack of faith and trust in God? 

If we ever find ourselves this low, what are we expected to do? 

Are we supposed to cover it up? 

Are we supposed to repent?

Psalm 6

                O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
                                nor discipline me in your wrath.
                Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
                                heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.

                My soul also is greatly troubled.
                                But you, O LORD—how long?
                Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;
                                save me for the sake of your steadfast love.

                For in death there is no remembrance of you;
                                in Sheol who will give you praise?
                I am weary with my moaning;
                                every night I flood my bed with tears;
                                I drench my couch with my weeping.

                My eye wastes away because of grief;
                                it grows weak because of all my foes.
                Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
                                for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.

                The LORD has heard my plea;
                                the LORD accepts my prayer.
                All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
                                they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

It is strange that the choir would sing such a psalm. The tone of desperation seems very great. Grief has filled the mind and the soul of David. His tears are real and profuse! His circumstances, and the behavior of the wicked, are relentless and overwhelming.

Can a person who knows God really be in this kind of despair? Will God be offended by it? Does it expose lack of faith and trust in God? If we ever find ourselves this low, what are we expected to do? Are we supposed to cover it up? Are we supposed to repent?

David realizes that God has a right to rebuke him. The Lord has the right to discipline him. He is totally dependent on God. The psalmist never loses sight of the fact that God has the right to deal with his life in any way He wants.

David seeks for grace and appeals to God’s steadfast love. Yes, David is overwhelmed by his problems, but yet he is totally dependent on God. God has never asked us to pretend that our situations are easy or pleasant, but He does expect our trials to drive us to His loving and gracious arms.

It is important that we keep this in mind, also, when we are called to comfort fellow believers who are in distress. We are not called to rebuke them for the reality of their distress, rather to guide them to see that God is behind the events.

David asks a very simple question: ‘How long?’. There is no sense that he is rebelling; he is asking for grace, reminding himself and God of His steadfast love. This love is undeserved, it was set upon man before the foundation of the world, it never changes, and it is eternal. Steadfast love drives us to humble dependence upon the God Who so surprisingly has set His love upon us!

It’s interesting that David reminds God that he will not be able to praise Him when he is dead. The implication is that he was doing it and had no intention of stopping. The situation David is facing is bringing nights of great sorrow and tears, but it’s not stopping him from public worship. We cannot forget that he is writing a song to be sung in public to the praise of his Lord.

Under the inspiration of God, David is publicly establishing the reality of true difficulties, real sorrow, and vivid hope. David’s grief is exhausting but not hopeless; he knows that the LORD is hearing both his tears and his worship.

David knows that God is going to respond and that, at the end, the Lord will prevail and God’s enemies will be put to shame. His prayer is accepted by God, not on the basis of perfect behavior or because of the extent of the pain, but as he has clearly stated, because of the steadfast love that drives the grace of God.

This psalm gives me great comfort. I know that God is not surprised or offended by my tears. I know that pain and suffering is common to man, even those whom God loves. I am reminded that God hears their prayers, and will respond on the basis of His love and grace.

Yes, we will suffer, but in the suffering, don’t lose sight of God!