A scripture reflection on Psalm 31:1-9
Are you having a hard week? I hope not, but if you are Psalm 31 is for you.
We all face adversity and hardship from time to time. Maybe there is a stress or weight in your life that is weighing on your heart. Maybe you have had some tough moments with family members or close friends recently and now feel isolated. Maybe there is an internal battle you’re struggling with – an addiction or poor self-worth. All of us experience adversity in different forms, either from without or within. Psalm 31 really taps into these everyday experience of suffering. Yet, it is where the Psalmist turns to in the midst of the angst that brings hope.
David, the author of the Psalms, turns to God with his pain. What do you turn to in times of trouble? It seems so much easier to simply deaden our pain with distractions. Hello Netflix! Am I right? It is so easy to get lost on Facebook for a few hours or turn to a quart of Häagen-Dazs for some instant comfort. While none of these things are innately evil, they are insufficient to truly satisfy the need for God in our hearts. Sure, we can find distractions. Heck,in our desperation we can even try to self-medicate. Yet, it is Jesus who is the divine physician and only he can bring lasting and sufficient healing.
If you are feeling isolated, in distress or suffering, bring it to our God. He knows what it is to be rejected, to grieve and to hurt. God is our refuge, our hiding place. He hears the cries of the poor and is near to the brokenhearted. Let us turn to him in the midst of our struggle.
Lord, today, help me to turn to you in times of trouble. My hope is in you, O God!
