Take heart

DEVOTION

PSALMS

TAKE HEART

 Ps 31

In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. 2 Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. 3 Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. 4 Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. 5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the LORD. 7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. 8 You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.

9 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. 10 My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. 11 Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends — those who see me on the street flee from me. 12 I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. 13 For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life.

14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." 15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. 16 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. 17 Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and lie silent in the grave.   18 Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous.

19 How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. 20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues.

21 Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city. 22 In my alarm I said," I am cut off from your sight!" Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.

23 Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. 24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.

NIV

We really should take this in bits, or at least in stanzas, but the whole is the overall thought. The ups and downs, the ebbs and flows of life are seen within the whole of this psalm. There are times of trouble when we cry out to the Lord to relieve us, to rescue us from those moments in life when everything seems to be going the wrong way. There are times when it seems like everyone and everything is against us. Then we take a breath, we hear from God, and we see things for what they are, and see his hand at work in our life and feel his presence and peace. But there is another truth in this psalm that parallels the life is Jesus.  It starts with those words which Jesus quoted from this psalm.

Luke 23:46

46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.

NIV

Jesus wanted God to come to his rescue on that cross. He knew it was time, and he wanted it to be over. So he laid down his life, the enemy did not take it from him. He decided when he would commit his spirit unto the Father. He was pursued by his enemies, he was chased after in attempt after attempt to catch him in violation of the law, in blasphemy. He knew all about the pain and suffering his creation endures at times. He experienced all our emotions, all our pain, all our sorrow, anguish, our groaning and our afflictions. Sometimes we even feel like broken pottery, but he felt that way as well. All of the times of hardship can be put to rest in knowing God is our strength, our shield, our fortress, our redeemer, our salvation, our rock, our shelter, our ever presence help in trouble. His goodness is stored up for us. His love is ever shown to us. Even in the times when it seems like he is not there, he is. Jesus quoted in essence this other verse in this psalm about being cut off from his sight. Actually from psalm 22, but this psalm has that same idea.

Matt 27:46

46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,  lama sabachthani?"-which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"   

NIV

Feeling forsaken, feeling cut off from his sight, not feeling the presence of God in difficult times is human. Jesus was fully human and having understood all the emotions, all the senses, all the ups and downs of life, he understands our ebbs and flows. So when we experience those moments we can understand he is always there, he said that he would never leave us nor forsake us. It does not matter how we feel, or what sad state of affairs our life might be in certain times, God is always there to comfort us, to love us, to preserve us for we are among the faithful. We will never give up on God, we will never turn from him to worship or trust some other god or idol. So we will remain strong and take heart because our hope is in him.