Psalms DAY 8
DAY 8 - The Turn
Psalm 10:12-18
Our songwriter prays his pain but makes a turn in v.12: “Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.” He calls on God to get up and do something! He still asks “why,” but there’s enough faith to believe God might help.
The change continues into v.14, “But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted.” That’s a big change! Remember, he started in v.1 by questioning whether or not God sees all that’s going on. Now he’s sure God sees. In very graphic (but metaphorical) language, he then tells God to disarm the bad guys, v.15, “Break the arm of the wicked man.” You can feel faith building as he gets to v.16, “The LORD is King for ever and ever.” Translation: “I know things look bad, but God’s not done with us yet. Somehow, someway, God’s gonna make this right.”
The songwriter prays his pain until it’s praise again. That’s what the psalms of lament urge us to do and help us to do: pray your pain until it’s praise.
This sounds like overly-positive, churchy advice, but every lament psalm makes this turn. The trouble is, we don’t know how long a time it was between v.13 and v.14. We don’t know how long he prayed, “Why, God?” before he could say, “The Lord is king.”
Lament psalms challenge us to pray through the pain, not around it. Bring the pain and the doubt to God. Pray your pain until it’s praise.
REFLECT
What do you think of the advice to “pray your pain until it’s praise?”
PRAY
It doesn’t always feel like it, God, but you do see our pain. You care about our hurts. You won’t let unfairness go unanswered. The Lord is king forever and ever. Amen.
Psalm 10:12-18
Our songwriter prays his pain but makes a turn in v.12: “Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.” He calls on God to get up and do something! He still asks “why,” but there’s enough faith to believe God might help.
The change continues into v.14, “But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted.” That’s a big change! Remember, he started in v.1 by questioning whether or not God sees all that’s going on. Now he’s sure God sees. In very graphic (but metaphorical) language, he then tells God to disarm the bad guys, v.15, “Break the arm of the wicked man.” You can feel faith building as he gets to v.16, “The LORD is King for ever and ever.” Translation: “I know things look bad, but God’s not done with us yet. Somehow, someway, God’s gonna make this right.”
The songwriter prays his pain until it’s praise again. That’s what the psalms of lament urge us to do and help us to do: pray your pain until it’s praise.
This sounds like overly-positive, churchy advice, but every lament psalm makes this turn. The trouble is, we don’t know how long a time it was between v.13 and v.14. We don’t know how long he prayed, “Why, God?” before he could say, “The Lord is king.”
Lament psalms challenge us to pray through the pain, not around it. Bring the pain and the doubt to God. Pray your pain until it’s praise.
REFLECT
What do you think of the advice to “pray your pain until it’s praise?”
PRAY
It doesn’t always feel like it, God, but you do see our pain. You care about our hurts. You won’t let unfairness go unanswered. The Lord is king forever and ever. Amen.
Posted in spring 2024
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Because of Easter DAY 1Because of Easter DAY 2Because of Easter DAY 3Because of Easter DAY 4Because of Easter DAY 5Because of Easter DAY 6Because of Easter DAY 7Because of Easter DAY 8Because of Easter DAY 9New Devo Starts SoonPsalms DAY 1Psalms DAY 2Psalms DAY 3Psalms DAY 4Psalms DAY 5Psalms DAY 6Psalms DAY 7Psalms DAY 8Psalms DAY 9Psalms DAY 10Psalms DAY 11Psalms DAY 12
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COMING SOON! RevelationRevelation Day 1 - TAKE IT TO HEARTRevelation Day 2 - IN THE SPIRITRevelation Day 3 - Learning to SeeRevelation Day 4 - The VoiceRevelation Day 5 - A Faithful WitnessRevelation DAY 6 - Past, Present, or Future?Revelation Day 7 - PRESS ONRevelation 8 - Comfort and ChallengeRevelation Day 9 - Compromised CommitmentRevelation Day 10 - I'm Fine, ThanksRevelation Day 11 - Holy, Holy, HolyRevelation Day 12 - Who is Worthy?Revelation Day 13 - Don't Give Up!Revelation Day 14 - No ContestRevelation Day 15 - Worship WellRevelation Day 16 - The Problem of EvilRevelation Day 17 - When You Don't Know WhyRevelation Day 18 - The Limits of SufferingRevelation Day 19 - Is God Angry?Revelation Day 20 - Saved Through Suffering