Joy in the Lord

 

Scripture: Psalm 13 (NIV)

          Psalm 13

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹ O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?

How long will you look the other way?

² How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,

with sorrow in my heart every day?

How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

³ Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!

Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.

⁴ Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”

Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love.

I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

⁶ I will sing to the Lord

because he is good to me. 

Devotion:

          I suffer from periodic bouts of depression. During this time of Covid-19 many of us probably have.

          I have found that the Psalms are good medicine for me. Here we see Psalm 13 it is a study of contrasts. It begins with deep depression in verses 1 and 2. David, the psalmist, does not allow us to stew in our depression. In just a few short verses he goes from deep despair to joy In verses 5 and 6.

          There are a few other Psalms that that feature similar movements from despair to hope and rejoicing for example Psalm 3 and Psalm 22. What can we learn from these Psalms?

          We learn that it is a good thing to worship God. We bring our depression and sadness and confess it to God. We must remember that our God is big enough to handle whatever we are going through. If we worship God, it gets our minds off our troubles and onto the Lord our source of joy.

          So, bring your honest confession of depression and sadness to God and he will give you his beauty for your ashes. Use the Psalms as a door through which you can bring your needs to the Lord.         

Prayer:

          Dear Lord, help us to bring our sorrows and joys before you. Let us search your word for help in doing so. Teach us to rely on you as our Savior from the depths of depression. Save us by your powerful arm. Amen.