The Lord Has Heard

Posted on by korgrocker

“Go away, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer. May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified. May they suddenly turn back in shame.”
Psalm 6:8-10 NLT

David has been on a journey in this Psalm. He started off with sickness, aching bones, weeping, even the fear of death, and in it all he reminded God of what he thought were His obligations. At no point did doubts emerge in David’s mind that God would not heal him and finally he wrote, “The Lord has heard my plea”. David’s last verses in this Psalm continue with the thought that behind it all was the fear of his enemies and what they might do to him. In the previous verse he wrote, “My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies”. For a man who had fearlessly and efficiently despatched Goliath, why, all of a sudden, was he afraid of “enemies”? In the previous Psalm written by David (Psalm 5), we find, “My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. Their deepest desire is to destroy others. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with flattery“. And in Psalm 41:5-6 we perhaps get some clarity about who these enemies were, “But my enemies say nothing but evil about me. “How soon will he die and be forgotten?” they ask. They visit me as if they were my friends, but all the while they gather gossip, and when they leave, they spread it everywhere“. 

David was being worn down by evil people claiming to be his friends but in reality they were seeking his downfall. David was a God-fearing and believing man with his first priority being the worship and following of God. David would therefore have been living a life aspiring to purity and holiness. Not for him the ways of the world of his time, with the idol worship and evil practices, and that set David apart from his peers. In Jesus’ day, the same thing happened to the Son of God. His life of purity and holiness was absolute, and even made one of His disciples, Peter, exclaim, “ … Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man” (Luke 5:8b). The contrast between Jesus and the people in the world around Him was stark and it ultimately led to the people, who were healed and fed during His public ministry, crying out “Crucify Him” because they felt terminally uncomfortable in His presence. David was shunned and slandered by people who he referred to as his enemies, and it affected him deeply, to the point of sickness and depression. 

Today, a practising Christian in the office is not a popular figure. Not for a faithful believer are the smutty jokes, the lunchtime drinks, the debauched office parties. The world hates those who dare to be different, who follow God’s ways. But believers in Christ are assured that their prayers are heard. David wrote, “the Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer”, and ruled for many years as Israel’s king. Jesus warned His disciples, and by inference us pilgrims as well, when He said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Further on in His Priestly Prayer Jesus said, “I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one” (John 17:14-15). 

We pilgrims do not belong to the kingdom of the world, riven and blackened as it is by evil, wickedness and sin. David wasn’t, Jesus wasn’t and neither are we. There was a day when we crossed the border to become citizens of the Kingdom of God, and we now are subservient to a different King who has promised to never leave us or forsake us. Yes, sometimes it will be difficult to avoid the attacks of the enemy. Sometimes such hassles will affect us deeply, as they did to David. But we have a King, our Lord and God, who hears our pleas and who will answer our prayers.

Dear Father God. We ask for Your help in our fight against our enemies. Keep us all safe, we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Grief and Tears

Posted on by korgrocker

“I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears. My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.”
Psalm 6:6-7 NLT

David is in a desperate place, sobbing, weeping and grieving. David is irreconcilable, and all because of his enemies. They could have been his physical enemies, both inside and outside of Israel. They could have been the forces of the enemy, the devil, playing havoc with his mind. But whatever they were, they were so real to David that he was spending the night crying when he should have been sleeping. 

David was not in an unique place, because his experience is not uncommon. In the dark hours there are times when a problem we are facing into becomes so pressing, so hopeless, that we plunge into depressive depths and, even if not openly, we weep inside, lying awake as the waves of despair flood over us. And isn’t it strange, that a problem being faced by one person is something minor and insignificant to another. Whatever our stations in life, there is always a problem that could be facing us, one with the potential to reduce us to weeping and sobbing. 

There was a time when the Jews, exiled to Babylon, far away from home, did a lot of weeping. But Jeremiah the prophet had some encouraging Godly words for them, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”(Jeremiah 29:11). And that is what afflicts so many people – a lack of hope. Many people think that the life they lead is hopeless and futile and they try to dull the pain by turning to some other remedy, like alcohol or drugs. For a time their pain and distress will be alleviated, but it will still be there in the morning. Others become so hopeless and depressed that they finally decide to take their own lives. 

Paul wrote to the Romans the following words, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). Sadly, so many people will never turn to the “Source of hope” for a solution to their distress. But Paul’s prayer provides such a different picture to the one generated by the weeping David. God is hope and as we trust in Him, the power of the Holy Spirit will provide the solution to our problems.

Dear Heavenly Father. Only You can open doors to people locked in a place of hopelessness, weeping and sobbing. As we face into distressful situations like David, please help us as we turn to You, the Source of hope. Amen.

The Finality of Death

Posted on by korgrocker

“Return, O Lord, and rescue me. Save me because of your unfailing love. For the dead do not remember you. Who can praise you from the grave?”
Psalm 6:4-5 NLT

A grim subject to write about this morning, and not one that is a popular discussion point in every day life. Death is a certainty. No-one will escape its clutches. Human beings get to a point in life when their bodies wear out and they die, and David was aware of that because he took pains to remind God of the fact. David seemed to be afraid of his enemies and prayed for rescue and salvation from death, a common prayer by anyone in fear of mortal danger. News is coming in this morning of a plane crash in South Korea with many deaths resulting. Those people would have cried out to God for rescue, whether they knew Him or not. But most people (over 90%) die peacefully in their sleep, having fulfilled their “three score years and ten” or even more if they have the strength. 

David reminded God that dead people cannot praise Him, and that is the issue. We have a short span of life available to us during which we can offer God our praise and worship. A time when we can communicate with Him, thank Him, love Him, serve Him and enjoy Him, as the Westminster Catechism records. But inevitably there will come a time when this opportunity will pass. As we read the Davidic Psalms, we can see that David had a relationship with God, birthed in the long hours while he watched his father’s sheep. Times when he praised and worshipped God with his harp, finding the sweet spot of relational bliss with his Creator. He knew that God loved him. He knew that God supplied his needs, and he knew that he could communicate directly through his prayers and conversation with his Lord. But in this moment of crisis, he appeared to be facing into death, and was appealing to God for rescue. 

We know that there comes a time when our physical bodies die and are disposed of as being of no further use to us. Most people think that there is something going to happen after we die, and there are some strange theories about what that is. We have incarnation, where we return in a different body. Some believe that everyone goes to a place they call Heaven. Others believe that when people die they enter a period of blackness, the ultimate finality. But the Bible tells us that when we die, our spirits live on and end up in a holding place we call Heaven or hell. Jesus told a story about the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16, and from the conversation Jesus had with the adjacent penitent thief at Calvary, we know that there is a place called paradise awaiting us. So the question facing into mankind is, without exception, “Where will your spirit go after you die?” We pilgrims have made the right choice, because we are children of God. But what about those around us, who perhaps have yet to make a decision, and for whom the clock is ticking? In Acts 2:40 we read, “Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”” And these words still reverberate today, as we repeat them to the lost and dying around us. The most important choice that a human being can make is about their post-death future. 

Dear Father God, please lead us to those who are open to Your Gospel, and are waiting for someone to share what You have done for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have Compassion

Posted on by korgrocker

“O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage. Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. I am sick at heart. How long, O Lord, until you restore me?”
Psalm 6:1-3 NLT

David must have been in a hard place when he wrote this Psalm. Had he done something he shouldn’t and his conscience was working overtime? Had he done something that had made God angry with him? Or had he contracted some illness and thought his condition was a punishment from God? But whatever it was, David was unhappy, and he asked God for healing. Pain in our bones is not a common condition, and is usually accompanied by an injury or, in modern times, some forms of cancer, so perhaps David had indeed been damaged during an accident or battle. But whatever the reason, David  was weak and depressed through his pain and sickness. 

But where did David turn to in his distress? His Lord, of course, and the conversation was robust and demanding on David’s part. He looked to God for a solution to his woes, and, by the way, please hurry up with the remedy Lord! 

As we read these verses, what do we think? If we experience pain, what do we do? Probably we reach for the pain killers, or, if necessary, get in touch with a doctor. If depressed, we find a councillor. We research our condition on the internet. But, sadly, it is often only when all other remedial avenues have been explored before we turn to God. He has been waiting in the wings all along trying to get our attention, but to no avail. David prayed for God to have compassion on him, for healing and for restoration. His relationship with God was such that, based on his faith and previous experiences, he knew God would come through for him. 

Today, we are blessed with health remedies unheard of in David’s day. Medical technology is advancing all the time and many conditions are now treatable. But often the medics are dealing with the symptoms and not the causes. David looked to God for a reason for his conditions and concluded that his behaviour had perhaps been the instigator. In his days, the thought was that sin was judged and dealt with through something like sickness, or an unfavourable event. In Deuteronomy 11:26-28 we read, “Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him and worship gods you have not known before“. 

These verses are still in the Bible today, and it may be that sometimes sickness and ill health have their roots established in wrong choices that we have made. Wrong relationships, carelessness with finances, reliance on drugs and alcohol, crime, and more. We only have to look at society today to see the effects wrong choices have made on people’s lives. But there is a way back to a right relationship with God. He is indeed compassionate and merciful. He will help us put right the wrongs of the past. As we implement God’s commands in our own lives, we find ourselves aligned to God’s ways, just as He intended when He created us. Of course, we live in a fallen sinful world, and we will still get sick, but God is still there for His children, when they cry out to Him in prayer. 

Dear Father God. Please help us to live our lives Your way, every day. Amen.

Refuge in God

Posted on by korgrocker

“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy. For you bless the godly, O Lord; you surround them with your shield of love.”
Psalm 5:11-12 NLT

As the soft tones of the accompanying flute echo in the air, David finishes this Psalm with a wonderful picture of God’s protection, a picture of a scene of peace and tranquillity as the storms of life rage unceasingly around him. A 3D cameo of a human being hanging in a maelstrom of chaos, untouchable and safe, forever buoyed up into the presence of God. To describe this place, David used words and phrases like “refuge”, “spread Your protection”, “surround”, and “shield of love”. In David’s world, perhaps he was envisaging an impregnable fortress where his enemies could not reach him. Or it was the thought that in the middle of a battle the swords and spears of his opponents were unable to pierce the circle of shields that had sprung up to protect him. And welling up within him was an indescribable joy expressed in singing as he basked in God’s love.

Have we pilgrims ever been in a place like David? Have we ever experienced God’s protection, saving us from all the enemies that would come against us? A lovely story we perhaps think but not one that matches reality. We ask why bad things happen to good people. A fellow Christian smitten with ill health. A child of believing parents snatched from them by a drunk driver motoring by. Fellow believers in other nations persecuted because of their faith. Even people who dared to believe faithfully that God would protect them from anything bad, but He didn’t. 

We can read about the saints of old in Hebrews 11. On the one hand, there were those who seemed to go through life unscathed. Hebrews 11:33-34, “By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight”. But there were others described in the verses after, ” … But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons” (Hebrews 11:35-36). 

In Jesus’ longest prayer, He declared, “During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold” (John 17:12). But a bit later on, Jesus prayed to His Father, “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one” (John 17:15). And there’s the key. We, as human beings living in a world riddled with sin and wickedness, will experience the same ailments as anyone else, believers of not. Occasionally God will especially protect His children, as I can personally testify with the miraculous healing of my daughter. On other occasions He will, perhaps inexplicably, not answer the prayers in a way that we would like. But we will pray anyway. Fatalism has no part in a believer’s life. God is not capricious, however, sometimes healing a person and then on another occasion not doing so, depending on His mood. God looks at the big picture, and He has promised to keep us safe from the evil one. Living in a sinful world has its down sides, but one day we pilgrims will find ourselves in a place where, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever” (Revelation 21:4). In the meantime, whatever our circumstances, sick or well, we can “sing joyful praises” to God, assured of His loving and gracious protection until we arrive home.

Dear Father God. We bring all our sicknesses and diseases, our fears and worries, to You secure in the knowledge that You have shielded us from all the attacks of the evil one. As we stand firm in Your love we praise and worship You with thanks full hearts. And we thank You that one day, sooner to later, You will take us away to a place with You. Amen.

Foul Talk

Posted on by korgrocker

“My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. Their deepest desire is to destroy others. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with flattery. O God, declare them guilty. Let them be caught in their own traps. Drive them away because of their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.”
Psalm 5:9-10 NLT

The smell that emanates from a rotting corpse is disgusting, and it is just as well that bodies are buried today in a box or cremated and not left to decompose where there are people. However, in his day David was obviously aware of such a smell and he compared it to the “foul talk” that comes from the mouths of his enemies. But who are these enemies? There is nothing to say that they are foreign forces or nations on Israel’s borders. David’s enemies are probably those within Israel who don’t like the way he rules the country. You will always find a group of people, usually a minority, who think that the only important thing in life is their own particular ideology and anyone who disagrees with them, especially the governing authorities, then become an “enemy” of the state. Or there may have been a political party who disagreed with David and were intent on stirring up trouble in the hope that a new government could be formed, more sympathetic to their politics. And in David’s days, as in our modern societies, truth becomes a scarce commodity. But David wasn’t fazed by such people. He knew what they were about, their lies, their flattery, their plotting and scheming. If only, he thought, God would get rid of them, and then he would’t have to put up with them.

But David somehow associated what came out of their mouths with the “stench from an open grave”. The Apostle James had another view of “foul talk” In James 3:5-6, we read, “ ... the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.” In David’s day, in James’ day and even in our 21st Century societies, what comes out of the mouths of human beings can, and often will, be “foul”. Jesus put His finger on the problem in Matthew 15:18-19, “But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander“. The tongue is just a tool that expresses what is happening inside someone’s head, because it is here that the “foul talk” originates.

“Foul talk” has no place in a pilgrim’s life, and the Apostle Paul wrote about the remedy in Ephesians 4:21-23, “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.” Our minds, soaked and renewed in the power of the Holy Spirit, will find it more and more difficult to generate the lying thoughts that irritate the nostrils of those around us. Instead, truth will emanate graciously from our lips, pleasing our wonderful Heavenly Father.

Dear Father God. We pray David’s prayer in Psalm 19 before You today, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Amen.

Our Patient God

Posted on by korgrocker

“My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. Their deepest desire is to destroy others. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with flattery. O God, declare them guilty. Let them be caught in their own traps. Drive them away because of their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.”
Psalm 5:9-10 NLT

David returns to thoughts about his enemies. David has little positive to say about them and, reading these verses, we get the impression that he thinks that God should feel the same way as he does. So, after David points out all the bad things that his enemies do, he asks God to do something about it. “Declare them guilty” and “Drive them away”, he asks. But does God answer his petitions? Straight away? Right at that moment?

That’s the thing about God – His patience. And aren’t we glad that He was patient with us, during those times when we were wayward and guilty of rebellion against God through our sins. On Mount Sinai, Moses encountered God, and his account includes, “The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). God will always give His enemies time to come to their senses, because He is patient with them and slow to get angry. He never wants anyone to perish in their sins. But impatient David wanted immediate action from His powerful God. 

Isn’t that the same with us pilgrims? We encounter many injustices in our journeys through life and want God to sort them out. The scandals of homelessness, drugs, addictions, wars, poverty – the list seems endless. “Come on, God, sort them out” we cry. But Heaven is silent and nothing happens. The scandals continue, or so it seems. But then we pause for a moment and reflect on the fact that God is holding back a tide of evil and wickedness that would more than overwhelm the problems we see in life. Of course there is much happening in this world that one day will have to be judged. But God is patient. He is aware of the injustices happening before Him. But He also has allowed mankind to make their choices, and one day everyone will be called to account for the things they have done. 

David spent much time in God’s company and he learned to trust Him in all the situations he encountered. We pilgrims must also trust God, having the faith that He knows best and one day will balance the scales. So, we pray about situations we encounter, we act as God directs, and we wait for the salvation of the Lord to be manifested in what is before us. 

Dear Father God. Thank You that You have this world in Your hands. We pray that You will help us see what is happening around us through Your eyes, each and every day. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

The House of God

Posted on by korgrocker

“Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe. Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow.“
Psalm 5:7-8 NLT

David was perhaps on a bit of an emotional roller coaster as he wrote this Psalm. He woke up crying for help and groaning in misery. He then reminded God of the wicked people around and how God could not entertain any contact with them, and he then relaxed into familiar territory, with thoughts of the Temple, the House of God. There, David knew he could find a place where there was spiritual solace and security with His Lord and God. David recognised that the reason he could go to the Temple was because of God’s “unfailing love”. And it was there that he could worship the Lord “with deepest awe”. Touching base again with God, David found that his perspective changed and he saw the need to trust the Lord in the difficult military and political situations before him.

There is of course much here that is of help to us pilgrims. Because God loves us, we can enter His presence at any time. But are we sure of that? Psalm 24:3-4, “Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies”. There are of course prerequisites to entering into God’s presence. But once there, and assured of His love, our spirits turn to worship. Worship of our wonderful Heavenly Father and no-one else. In His presence the reality of who He is floods over us, and with the “deepest awe” we bow at His feet. We of course do not need to be in Jerusalem, in the Temple as David was. Neither do we need to enter one of the many churches and cathedrals that abound in our nation. In the quiet of our closets we find God and the opportunity for worship. My “closet” is often the natural world around me, where the Creator can be found in His creation. 

We also find that out of our worship experience God speaks to us through His Spirit. He gently nudges us towards the right paths. He reviews with us our current perspectives and offers alternatives. He points out anything within us that shouldn’t be there. A spiritual cleansing results and “makes [His] way plain for [us] to follow”. 

Love and worship. The very essence of our relationship with God. The powerhouse of pilgrim life. There is no better way.

Dear Heavenly Father. Please forgive us for the times when we try and exclude You from our lives and stumble into error, and places where we shouldn’t be. Amen.

Sins and Wickedness

Posted on by korgrocker

“O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked. Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence, for you hate all who do evil. You will destroy those who tell lies. The Lord detests murderers and deceivers.”
Psalm 5:4-6 NLT

David started this Psalm groaning and crying for help. But after praying he waited on God expectantly, waiting for an answer to his woes. In the meantime, he reminded God of some things, perhaps to help Him along to reaching a decision over what was making him groan. In the three verses today, David mentioned things that God cannot accept – sins, wickedness, pride, evil, murderers and deceivers. None of these character traits found in human beings will ever be found in Heaven, in God’s presence. In fact, they will be judged and punished long before the people concerned got anywhere near God’s domain. God knows that He is holy and pure, and there is no way anything will be allowed to violate who He is. He knows all about these things so why was David reminding Him about them? Probably because listings them will act as a warning both to himself and to others. All types of sin, regardless of what they are and where they have come from, will one day be dealt with.

David lists some reactions of God to his list of sins. God takes “no pleasure in wickedness”, He “cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked”, the proud will not “stand in [His] presence”, He hates “all who do evil”, liars will be destroyed, and God “detests murderers and deceivers”. But in today’s more theologically liberal wings of the Christian church, such Godly sentiments would be rejected. Such doctrinal adherents say that God is love, and therefore would not have such negative emotions. Can a God of love actually hate someone, even if they are evil, they say? But such people forget that God has many attributes to add to His perfect love – righteousness, justice and holiness to name just three.  David had a wonderful relationship with God and he knew God loved him, but he also knew that God’s love could not be overruled by evil.

We pilgrims are, and will be eternally, grateful for Jesus and His demonstration of God’s love and grace to a wicked and evil world. Jesus proclaimed to the world that all those who believed in Him would inherit eternal life. But His message was underpinned by David’s experience of God, in that a person’s belief in Jesus had behind it the whole message of repentance and forgiveness, grace and salvation. There is no way a believer can accept what God has rejected, so we pilgrims follow too the way of holiness and purity, in preparation for our lives in Heaven.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Jesus, Your Son, and His sacrificial death at Calvary, opening a door for mankind to walk through into Your presence, holy and forgiven. Amen.

The Groaners

Posted on by korgrocker

“O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you. Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.”
Psalm 5:1-3 NLT

Oh dear! David seemed to be in a bad place when he started to write this Psalm. I wonder what was troubling him. Perhaps he was suffering from a sickness, or a physical condition that was causing him some pain. Or was it a problem that today we would categorise with a mental health diagnosis? Was he depressed or something like that? But whatever it was he was at least praying, communicating with his Heavenly Father. There are of course those who might question how these words from David’s pen could be inspired by the Holy Spirit, as they seem to reflect a very human condition. But they are an example to everyone, because they expose the fact that people hurt, and God understands how we feel. If David was able to pour out all his troubles before God, then so can we.

But David was not in a good place. He was groaning and sighing, not at peace with himself. He needed help and had obviously woken up a bit distressed. It is almost as though he was incarcerated somewhere because each morning when he woke up he prayed, perhaps for deliverance, and then waited “expectantly”.

In it all, there is much here that a modern day pilgrim like us can relate to. How did we wake up this morning? Well rested and full of the joys of spring, leaping out of bed, ready to take on all that the day was about to throw at us? Or did we wake up heavy in heart, groaning, tired after a sleepless night? There will be some who find themselves imprisoned by their circumstances, trapped in a loveless marriage perhaps, or forced to go to a job that they hate. In today’s society there are many reasons for being a groaner at the start of the day.

But David left us with a remedy for the groaners, a timeless solution that will never fail. He gave us three pointers that we would do well to follow when in distress. The first is to acknowledge God for who He is. David had no doubts that God was his “Lord and King” and he prayed to no-one else. The second point is to lay the problem, the one that is causing us to groan, before the Lord. Cry to Him for help. Ask Him to listen to our prayers. Voice out our prayer, audibly if necessary. Thirdly, we must do something that we are not particularly good at. We must wait patiently expecting an answer. God is always ready to speak to us, far more than we are to listen. Acknowledge, petition and wait. Three very simple pointers to write but perhaps a little more difficult to apply – that will take us a lot of practice and perseverance.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for David’s honesty, as he poured out before You all that mattered to him. Please help us to learn from his example. In Jesus’ name. Amen.