"A Trouble-Filled Soul"

Today I read, Psalm 88, which in my Bible is titled, "A Trouble-filled Soul". It is sad, bleak, and a little depressing to read. The psalmist points out his isolation and feelings of being on the edge and not being able to take anymore. He sounds suicidal in verses 3 and 4. "For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength." In verse 15 he adds, "I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted."

The psalmist states that his affliction is coming from God's anger. Verses 7 and 16 states, "Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves...Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off." I don't understand what kind of terrors the psalmist was experiencing or how God has afflicted him. However, the psalmist's prayers moved me.

1. He cried out and prayed to God day and night.

When we are suffering, don't give up calling out to God. The psalmist says he, "cried day and night" (verse 1) and, "called daily upon thee" (verse 9). Verse 13 says that the person suffering prayed so much in the morning that his prayers "prevented thee." I took this to mean the psalmist's prayers held God's attention and would not let go. This is a simple and encouraging reminder that we have a captive audience when we pray to God. He is listening and will allow us to hold His full attention. So, be persistent and insistent when you pray out in anguish.

2. He told God that his suffering would not bring God glory.

I thought this was powerful. It's a reminder that we were made to praise and worship God. The psalmist tells God that his purpose for living - bringing praise and worship to God - would be gone if he remained in his current condition. "Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah. Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave or thy faithfulness in destruction? Shall thy wonders be known in the dark and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" (Verse 10-12) These words, this prayer, persuasively begs God to reconsider the psalmist's condition and see what is happening to him. (As the psalmist says in verse 14, God had hid His face from him.) The prayer insists that God would receive more praise and worship from our healing and salvation, than from our suffering and death.

3. He remembered his ultimate purpose.

This brings me to the final thing that slowly dawned on me. The psalmist, in his depressed condition, either realized or remembered that God wants his praise. He remembered that God is his Savior. By questioning how his life purpose could be fulfilled in the grave, he acknowledges that praise is what he was created to do. Sometimes while suffering we can be distracted by other solutions and seek other methods to bring us peace and resolution. This psalmist reminds us to remember that it is only in God that we can find true salvation.

So, whatever you are going through, don't quit talking to God about it. Start praising Him before there's a resolution to your troubles, and remind Him of your God-created purpose in life. It's a hard thing to do when you feel mired down with depression. I pray that God sees and honors the trust we show when we go against our feelings and recognize Him as our Savior and praise Him despite the pain.

♪♪♪ "Ain't No Grave" - Bethel Music