Taking Your Pain to God


Psalm 41
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
2the Lord protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
3The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.
4As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
5My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die, and his name perish?”
6And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
7All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me.
8They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him; he will not rise again from where he lies.”
9Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
10But you, O Lord, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them!
11By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
12But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.
13Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

This is one of those Psalms that is difficult for me to relate to. I don’t know how it feels to be surrounded by hateful enemies. God has been so gracious to me in this way, for I know that there are those who are in such situations. It would shake me to my core to know that there are people who actually wish me dead.

But the place where I can relate to David and this Psalm is in the honest outpouring of his pain before the Lord. Reading the Psalms can give liberation to your heart. David models for us utter and complete honesty about his pain before the Lord. He holds nothing back and doesn’t try to sugarcoat his fears. We get to do the same. I have a grandchild who talks out his frustrations – to himself. When he’s been scolded or is angry about something he goes off by himself and talks himself down. You can tell where he’s at in the process because his angry words become calmer and quieter. He walks back into our presence with calm in his heart. This is exactly what David does only he goes before the Lord with his words. He’s not talking to the empty air. He has a listening ear and a caring Heart that hears every word and understands every emotion. God cares about what we care about and that is amazing. Let me have you read that again – God cares about what you care about. It’s okay to tell Him about it with all of the emotional energy that you can muster. And chances are very good that when you have shared your heart with Him, you too will be able to say, Blessed be the Lord from everlasting to everlasting!

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