Psalm 38
Today’s Passage: Psalm 38
Have you ever been in a place that is so difficult you really don’t have words for it? Maybe you are there right now. Maybe it was 3 years ago. But we have all had those times where we didn’t know how we were going to make it through… yet here we are.
We have had those moments where our hearts echo David’s words in verse 8…
“I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart.” (NLT)
David in this Psalm gives us some things to think about when faced with those seasons…
1) YOU ARE SEEN BY GOD (v.9)
I hope that that is an encouragement to you. You are not unseen. Sometimes that is just the amount of hope that we need to keep going. You are seen by, cared for, loved by God.
2) WAIT ON GOD’S TIMING (v.15)
Sometimes the hardest part about these seasons is waiting but often that is exactly what we need to do. God’s timing is best. His ways are so far above our ways. He is sovereign. He is not caught off guard. He has a plan for our good (Romans 8:28).
3) REORIENT YOUR HEART TO GOD (v.18)
Sometimes, though not always, our difficult seasons are a result of our sin. When we run from God, run from who knows best, and rebel against His ways it can lead us to some difficult places. Confess. Repent. Turn back to God.
Even if your season is not from sin it is always a good idea to check and reorient our heart. Make sure we are living right… and believing the right things.
How does Psalm 38 encourage you?
Written By: Nick Parsons
Have you ever been in a place that is so difficult you really don’t have words for it? Maybe you are there right now. Maybe it was 3 years ago. But we have all had those times where we didn’t know how we were going to make it through… yet here we are.
We have had those moments where our hearts echo David’s words in verse 8…
“I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart.” (NLT)
David in this Psalm gives us some things to think about when faced with those seasons…
1) YOU ARE SEEN BY GOD (v.9)
I hope that that is an encouragement to you. You are not unseen. Sometimes that is just the amount of hope that we need to keep going. You are seen by, cared for, loved by God.
2) WAIT ON GOD’S TIMING (v.15)
Sometimes the hardest part about these seasons is waiting but often that is exactly what we need to do. God’s timing is best. His ways are so far above our ways. He is sovereign. He is not caught off guard. He has a plan for our good (Romans 8:28).
3) REORIENT YOUR HEART TO GOD (v.18)
Sometimes, though not always, our difficult seasons are a result of our sin. When we run from God, run from who knows best, and rebel against His ways it can lead us to some difficult places. Confess. Repent. Turn back to God.
Even if your season is not from sin it is always a good idea to check and reorient our heart. Make sure we are living right… and believing the right things.
How does Psalm 38 encourage you?
Written By: Nick Parsons
2 Comments
Thank you Nick for your words of encouragement. I read this quote last week that came from a pastor's wife in Ukraine; Marina Noyes on how to deal with hardships :"When trouble comes, we cry, when it gets bad, we pray, when it becomes unbearable, we sing." Once we turn our trials over/confess our sins to a Living Savior, true praise begins.
Great post, Nick! I am encouraged by verse 14 - " I choose to hear nothing, and I make no reply." The enemy can try to make us feel/respond to circumstances in life a certain way (shame, anger, fear, etc) but we have a choice in how we respond. Do we sit with those feelings and let them swallow us whole or do we run to God and lay our feelings at His feet and rely on His strength? I am so encouraged that we have a choice and we know who to run to, always, but especially when life feels super tough.