Spiritually tired

 

I'm going to ask for some honesty here.

And I'm going to be honest myself, too.

As believers, yes, even believing Christians, we can struggle with spiritual "tiredness." I totally think that David was spiritually struggling here:

And my soul is greatly dismayed; But You, O LORD -how long ? 

 Return, O LORD, rescue my soul; Save me because of Your lovingkindness. 

 For there is no mention of You in death; In Sheol who will give You thanks? (Psalm 6:3-5)

Haven't we all struggled spiritually at some point? Has there been a time that we simply had a hard time hanging on to our faith? If someone had asked us right then, would we have been able to "defend" our faith or explain our beliefs? Our worldview? 

During this time, if our believing friends came to us and counseled us, did we almost resent the things they said?

It's happened to me. It's happened to those whom I love. 

And it's difficult to handle. But God can restore us.

Let's think about it . . . . 

If I'm totally honest with y'all, I have had times that I struggled spiritually. These were usually times that I'd allowed sin or unbelief to gain a stronghold in my soul. I was having a hard time praying. I spent very little time reading my Bible. Things were getting pretty bad; I was irritable with the people I loved, and always mad at myself. I felt distant from God. And I blamed Him for my problems. (I know, right? Are you shaking your head in disbelief that I could be so silly as to blame Him, or are you nodding because you've been there?)

It was a huge struggle. But it wasn't because I was fighting to stay close to the Lord. I was miserable.

I recall one time that the turning point was watching our little daughter reading God's Word and loving it. He nudged me about her child-like faith and how He had blessed me in the past. I finally realized that I'd brought this on myself. The spiritual struggle was of my own making. 

God had not forsaken me. 

In the words of the popular saying, it was not Him Who moved. 

And in spite of my distancing myself from Him, He was with me the entire time! It was a wonderful day because I got on my knees and asked Him to forgive me - He filled me up with His love!

In these verses, we see David crying out to God because his soul is troubled. The physical struggle was beating him up and fatiguing him, and so a spiritual struggle began. David is looking up to God, but his sin and his flesh is making him imagine that God is angry with him and ready to smoosh him. 
As you can imagine, or perhaps remember a time in your own life, his heart was not at peace.

In fact, David feels lost.

David is a prime example for us, and a reminder that if we have sin in our lives, it won't matter if we are at church "every time the doors are open." It won't work to ignore the sin and try to pray. It won't help to push down the thoughts of the sin and try to read the Word. 

If that sin has a foothold in our lives, the devil is going to have a field day with us! It can become so overwhelming that we will think God won't listen even if we try calling out to Him. Hear the desperation in David's voice? "Have mercy, Lord!"

He continues by saying that his soul is troubled; he asks the Lord "how long?" He's fighting that spiritual tiredness as he prays.

We've talked before about how Satan will fill our thoughts with everything that he can, to keep us from Christ. "God doesn't want to hear from you, you vile sinner!" he will say. Or, "Why do you think God will forgive you? How many times have you done this same sin?" 

In verse four, David reveals that he understands -- he can't win this spiritual battle by himself. "Return, Oh Lord, deliver me!" You can hear the urgency and the desire there. He has recognized that God is the only One Who can heal and strengthen him.

Why does he say he knows God will deliver him? "Because of ....lovingkindness." Another word for mercy. He appeals to God for mercy because he knows he doesn't deserve it. A man after God's own heart. He knows he needs the mercy of God.

In verse five, David refers to death, and the fact that when a person dies, their body (the physical body) can no longer praise and glorify God. David knew that as the king of the children of God, he had a responsibility to lead them spiritually. If he died, he couldn't do that - and he couldn't bear the thought of the people turning away from God because of his sin.

As children of God, we can follow David's example, and He will restore us when we struggle with spiritual tiredness. Restoration is a wonderful time of peace and fellowship with Him. And God can use our return from spiritual tiredness to strength, as a testimony for His glory!

Physically tired

I hope that you will forgive me this week if I mention myself in these posts; it was a special blessing to re-read Psalm 6 when I hit a wall of "tired" this past week, during a trying time. I certainly don't mean to hold myself up as an example!

In verses one and two, I see that David was struggling physically:

1O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger,

Nor chasten me in Your wrath.

2Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am pining away;

Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed. v 1-2, NASB)

As Christians, we are not immune to the physical side of struggles. We can be doing our best and calling on the Spirit to get through a situation . . . it can be our health that we're struggling with; it can be a back-breaking chore we are trying to complete; it can simply be that we don't have enough energy to finish a task.

We see here that David may have had the same problem. He may have written this when he was overwhelmed and grieved by his sin with Bathsheba - maybe the stress affected his health. Whatever it was, it was a physical issue that robbed him of his health and his well-being. 

See in verse two, where it says "pining away"? In some translations it says "I am weak," and others say "I am one who droops," and still others say "I'm withered." Whatever this physical ailment was, it was bad enough to make David very weak.

He also cried out to God saying "my bones are troubled" or "dismayed." He must have literally been aching all over his body, and perhaps he was even shaking - maybe with fever.

Whatever this problem or sickness was, or if it was just that he was physically exhausted, it brought David to his knees - and that is the best place he could have been. If we believers are struggling with a health issue, or if we are just so tired we don't think we can take another step, we must do as David did, and tell the Lord in prayer. 

You see, the same God Who created us in His image, and Who saved us from our sins, is the same God Who can give us physical strength and healing. It's okay to ask God for strength when we are sick or tired. He will hear us, and He will give us the strength we need. I know this. He sustained me when I heard a surgeon tell me the results that we didn't want to hear. I was tired, bone tired. But God gave me strength so that I could go on, and so that I could serve the Lord and my loved one.

Sometimes when we get so overwhelmed, and so tired, we just "crash." We feel like we can't go on.

You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;
    the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

Praise be to God! (Psalm 68:35)

I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. (Jeremiah 31:25)

When we are physically tired, let's keep our eyes on Christ. Let's go to Him in prayer - isn't it awesome to realize that He never gets exhausted? (Grin) Nothing will ignite us and cheer us like time spent in prayer, and time spent reading His Word. Last week, we noted that we can run to His arms for refuge; we can also rest in His arms when we "hit a wall" and are tired. 

Amen!

I'm so tired!

 

It's ironic that I was going to jump over to another psalm for this week. . . . the Spirit told me to read and receive a blessing from Psalm 6. So I paused, and then I re-read it. And then I read it yet again. And I want to share with all of you.

As believers, there are times in our lives when we are struggling. We get tired. Life can be overwhelming! We get drained physically. We get exhausted emotionally. And we run "dry" spiritually. It gets hard to pick ourselves back up. Psalm 6 shows us that this happened to David, too.

Seriously? 

Some rich king, living in a palace, surrounded by peeps who love him, and clothed and fed well? 

Yup.

Ready to dive in?

This psalm is one of a group of seven songs that are known as "penitential" psalms. (Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143) If we are penitent, we are "feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong; to be repentant."

Ahhh, the light dawns . . . this could have been written after his sin with Bathsheba. After that sin, God disciplined David by taking the life of his newborn child. Or maybe it was penned after David disobeyed God's command not to number the people. After that sin, God disciplined him by sending a plague for three days, killing many of the people.

Yes, David was a man after God's own heart. No, he was not perfect - not saying that. We can see sin in his life, and that may explain how he could be feeling spiritually, emotionally, and physically tired all at the same time.

The encouraging thing here is that David shows us that it's not hopeless when we feel that way. He reminds us that it is possible to move forward, and to get the rest we need. He instructs us to look to our great God to bring us through. 

O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
    nor discipline me in your wrath.
 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
    heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.

My soul also is greatly troubled.
    But you, O Lord—how long?

 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
    save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
 For in death there is no remembrance of you;
    in Sheol who will give you praise?

 I am weary with my moaning;
    every night I flood my bed with tears;
    I drench my couch with my weeping.
 My eye wastes away because of grief;
    it grows weak because of all my foes.

 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
    for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
 The Lord has heard my plea;
    the Lord accepts my prayer.
 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
    they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment. (Psalm 6, ESV)

Are we tired? 

We can find rest.

 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29, KJV)

Friday slowdown

 

These powerful lyrics were going through my mind as I waited for my loved one to be released from the operating room. I hope they are a blessing to you, as well.

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more;
Feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain,
Where the living waters flow;
Let the river of salvation,
Follow all the desert through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield;
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.

Lord, I trust Thy mighty power,
Wondrous are Thy works of old;
Thou deliver'st Thine from thraldom,
Who for nought themselves had sold:
Thou didst conquer, Thou didst conquer,
Sin, and Satan and the grave,
Sin, and Satan and the grave.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of death and hell's destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan's side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to Thee;
I will ever give to Thee.

Musing on my habitation,
Musing on my heav'nly home,
Fills my soul with holy longings:
Come, my Jesus, quickly come;
Vanity is all I see;
Lord, I long to be with Thee!
Lord, I long to be with Thee!

More instructions from David

We're camped out in Psalm 5; we have listened as David thought about God's hatred of sin, and about God being our judge. By David's logic, our holy, sin-hating God will come to our defense simply because the wicked are so wicked! Now David tells us how to "draw near" to our refuge.

But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, AtYour holy temple I will bow in reverence for You. (v. 7)
 

David realized that he had no righteousness of his own . . . that the only way to enter God's house is by the lovingkindness that He shows to us. The Hebrew word translated "lovingkindness" here is the Old Testament word for "grace."  David's words (abundant lovingkindness) are very similar to Paul's words in the New Testament: "the riches of His grace."

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7)

It's clear that the only way anyone can "draw near" to God is through God's abundant grace.

Some folks kinda get bent out of shape because David mentions "God's house" and "temple." They pounce on it because at the time, the temple didn't yet exist. But both words are used of the tabernacle in the Old Testament:

Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house.  (Joshua 6:24)

Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.  (II Samuel 12:20)

Those words, "the Lord's house" are symbolic of the place of God's presence, and the place where His glory was seen. The only way to draw near to God was with fear, or in other words, with reverence. When Jesus taught us to pray "hallowed be Your name" in Matthew, we were taught to honor and reverence the name of the Lord. Hebrews 4:16 does indeed tell us to be confident:

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (v. 16)

We can approach and pray in confidence that He will hear and answer - but we must also come with reverence.

Starting in verse eight, David goes through his "list" again: he says when under attack we must take refuge in the Lord in prayer, we can appeal to God as our righteous judge, and we can reverently draw near to God by His grace.

Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness
    because of my enemies—
    make your way straight before me.

Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;
    their heart is filled with malice.
Their throat is an open grave;
    with their tongues they tell lies.
 Declare them guilty, O God!
    Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins,
    for they have rebelled against you.
 But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
    let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
    that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

 Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous;
    you surround them with your favor as with a shield. (V. 8-12)

We mentioned before just how easy it is to want to respond to our attackers in kind. A harsh word for a harsh word, a cutting remark to pay back for the first painful remark, etc. In verse eight we see that David is not just asking that God would protect him from the wicked, but that He would protect David from becoming like the wicked! Our critics would love to see us stumble, but that gives them an opportunity to mock and dishonor God, so it's important for us to stay in the "straight way."

In verses nine and ten, David again asks God to judge his evil attackers. This brings up a question that believers have discussed for many years: should we ask God to judge our attackers, or to forgive them?

Think about that for a minute.

We might quickly say oh, the New Testament way is for us to forgive them. We need to wait before we jump, though. (Grin) Check out this:

 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you ......They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might (II Thessalonians 1:6, 9)

And this:

“Rejoice over her, you heavens!
    Rejoice, you people of God!
    Rejoice, apostles and prophets!
For God has judged her
    with the judgment she imposed on you.” (Revelation 18:20)

Ask God to judge them? Rejoice over their punishment? Or forgive?

I believe that when evil people who are rebelling against God attack us, we need to ask God to be glorified either in saving them or by judging them. We may not know what His plan is. He may have a sovereign purpose in mind. We can leave it up to Him. (I don't know about you, but that takes the stress off of me, for sure!) He may save them -- He saved Saul of Tarsus! Or He may send them to eternal damnation if they don't repent. Many times when we are walking with the Lord and working for Him, people who attack us don't really hate us -- it's just that they are so busy rebelling against God that they lash out at anyone who is in their way! 

There are two things to remember: one, don't take it personally. We are just the messengers. Two, remember that it's not necessarily wrong to defend against these critics. It does require God's grace and wisdom, in order to respond in a Christlike and gracious way.

We'll be finishing up our studies of Psalm 5 next week. Have a blessed and peaceful weekend.

God is our righteous Judge (v. 4-6)

 

I like David's logic in these verses. Oh, you need a refresher? OK, here they are!

For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil dwells with You.
5 The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes;
You hate all who do iniquity.
6 You destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.

David's reasoning here is that since his enemies are so very evil, then God, Who is righteous, will act on his behalf. David goes through the list of God's righteousness to comfort and encourage himself with the truth that God will right every wrong.

David says that God does not take pleasure in sin. Well, of course He doesn't. But what does David actually mean?  It was an ancient figure of speech that simply meant "He hates it." 

He doesn't throw up His hands and say, "Well, humans will be humans!"

Or chuckle benevolently and say, "When will they EVER learn?"

No way. God stands apart from it, David says. And the Bible warns us repeatedly that God will condemn all unrepentant sinners. The hard part, the part that we humans don't like, is that if we think our good deeds will outweigh our bad ones, and get us into heaven, well, no. It doesn't work that way. Just. One. Single. Sin. Just one will bar us from heaven, unless we trust in Jesus as our Savior.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

Peter told us this about Jesus:

And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

We often hear people say "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner." And that is very true. He loves all of us so much! Enough that He left the glories of heaven and allowed Himself to be crucified; He was killed in our place, undeservedly, the One Who knew NO SIN.  

But wait!

David just said God hates the sinners he listed in those verses. What gives?

I read a commentary that noted Calvin's take on that: he explained what seems like a contradiction. He says that we need the verses about God's hatred of sinners so that we will be overwhelmed with just how offensive our sin is to a holy God. Calvin points back hundreds of years to Augustine, who explains that in a sense, God loved us even while He hated us. He hated our sin and rebellion, but He loved us in Christ before the foundation of the world. It is terrifically difficult to understand, at least for me. But I guess I do see Calvin's point -- some sinners are so arrogant, and so unrepentant, that to hear that God loves them is really nonsense to them.  Perhaps they need to hear that they are the objects of God's wrath. Perhaps they need to have it hammered home, that it's their sin and guilt that caused the Lord to go to the cross. Perhaps they need to be told of the awful coming judgment.
I can see that if a person is broken and overwhelmed by their sin, they are more aware of the greatness of God's love in Christ. It is meaningful then to us, to be told of His grace and His mercy.

Does that make sense to those reading? Let me know if you think I'm off my rocker, ok? (Grin)

So, David encourages himself that God will come to his aid, by listing the holiness of God and His hatred of sin. Logically, God will bring justice for David, and for His people.

In verse seven, though, David reminds himself (and us) that trusting in human righteousness is no way to approach God:

But I, by your great love,
    can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down
    toward your holy temple. (v. 7)

We can only come into the presence of God by His grace. We trust in Christ and we walk in obedience. 

And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it. (II John 1:6)

We have no righteousness of ourselves - we must stay in Christ's righteousness and walk with Him:

and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,  (Philippians 3:9)

Before we condemn our attackers, we must examine ourselves. Are we walking in obedience?

Oh, they are wicked!

What about me? Am I applying the Bible to myself and obeying Christ?

They are boastful! Hateful! They are dishonest! 

What about me?

I can appeal to God as David did, and seek His face to bring justice, but I must also examine my own heart:

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. (Romans 7:18)

Excuse me, if you will. I need to apply some bandaids to my toes that got stepped on! It's difficult. I know. But He will guide us. And He will give us rest.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Prayer requests

So many thankful thoughts are in my heart today. I cherish each one of you who prayed for my request last week. The surgery appears to have gone well, and the surgeon has assured us that he believes he got all of the cancer cells during the operating room stint. There will be more scans in the future, and we are waiting for a pathology report, but we are hopeful that they will show the cancer did not yet spread. We shall see.

Thank you, so very much.

I appreciate all of the prayers and all of the personal notes of encouragement that I received. My heart was much lighter and my mind much calmer, because of the peace that God gave me, through your prayers.

I will keep you updated, but for now, the prognosis is a good one. Praise the Lord!

I would ask if anyone has a request that we can pray for, to please leave a comment below and let us join in prayer.

God works in mighty ways -- to Him be the glory!