A Shift in Focus


Psalm 88
A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
1O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you.
2Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry!
3For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.
4I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength,
5like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand.
6You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep.
7Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
8You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
9my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you.
10Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me?
15Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
16Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me.
17They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together.
18You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Benjamin Franklin (1817)

I would amend that saying even a little more; In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and suffering. I used to say “my life has been a cake-walk because I didn’t think I suffered many tragedies.” But then I lived a little longer and more water flowed under the bridge of my life. And truly, I still don’t think I have suffered much. Yes, I had cancer 25 years ago and my only sibling died in 2017. But even still, I feel as though I am a stranger to tragedy. What I have done is walked with countless people through terrible and shocking events. Tragedy is a part of the substance of life. If we haven’t faced a tragedy in our own lives, we have stood beside those who have.

This psalm is a great one to have in your back pocket when life becomes overwhelming or you need to recommend a psalm to a struggling friend. These words are difficult to read. Clearly the author is in a life altering situation and a great deal of pain. We've all been there.

During Advent this year, I spent some time in the study of peace. It occurred to me that the opposite of peace is not chaos, which seems like the logical choice. No, the opposite of peace is fear. We often live in fear of what a situation will bring. Will the biopsy prove negative or positive? Will my angry boss fire me from my job? Will my spouse leave me for another person? The list is long and personal to each one of us. Every single thing you fear means your peace is disrupted in that spot. Tragedy may be just around the corner.

The most famous recitation of this psalm is probably from the mouth of Jonah as he descended into the depths of the ocean inside the belly of the great fish. Now that was a desperate situation. But even in that unique place of struggle we find a moment of hope; a moment of faith.

This psalm pivots on verse 13.
13But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.

That word "BUT" – there's the moment when the believer casts aside all of the pain and returns their focus to the Lord, reaffirming the fact that He alone can help. The pain still exists. This isn't a magic wand. But it is a shift in focus. I listened to a teaching yesterday that helped me remember that there is always something to praise God for, even if it is as small as the next breath. When I divert my attention away from my problem and onto the Lord, in that moment, there is peace. Sometimes peace resurfaces moment by moment, breath by breath. But that absence of fear is available because God is ever faithful creator and sustainer of our peace.

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