Grief can be one of the most difficult emotions to handle. It can overpower us and even take away our will to live. Some people do some pretty crazy, out of character things when grief strikes. Sorrow can get us questioning our most basic beliefs about life and God. It can be a time of inner turmoil unlike any other experience in life. And everyone walks through grief differently.
It often feels like a roller coaster ride when going through grief. The ups and downs, twists and turns come and go, often without any notice. We seem to be at peace, and OK with what is going on, and then in the next moment, the tears and despair roll in like the fog along the Maine coastline. And then without notice, the fog seems to lift.
Our Psalm today is attributed to David and he was a man just like you and me. He experienced his share of losses and betrayals. You can hear some of this up and down, back and forth as you read the Psalm. He goes back and forth between his cries for help directed to the LORD and his struggle to understand the actions of the wicked. Putting the righteousness of the LORD together with the seeming lack of judgment of the wicked causes this tension.
We hear this same tension expressed today in words like this. If God were a loving God, then He would do something. He would not allow cancer deaths, starving children, AIDS, incest, rape, murder, and a million other evils. If He really cared, He would do something. He wouldn’t let them get away with that.
David goes back and forth between expressing his trust in the LORD and the actions of his enemies. He wants action. He starts by pleading with the LORD to listen and consider his words. He wants to be heard. He wants intervention that will relieve his sorrow.
David points out that he made the LORD aware of what was going on “in the morning” and yet things still have not changed. It is difficult when the LORD works on His timetable rather than ours. We always want answers now, and the LORD sometimes makes us wait. David even seems to make the case to the LORD for His intervention. He lays out the things they are doing wrong, as if the LORD didn’t know them already. These evil people aren’t welcome in God’s presence, but David is. Come on, LORD, do something.
Notice that David tells the LORD, and us by extension, that the wicked can’t stand in God’s presence. They aren’t allowed. David says that by the LORD’s great love, His grace, he is allowed to be in His presence. David knows that the only way he can be accepted by the LORD is because the LORD has made it so. He has poured out His love on David, thus making David acceptable.
And as a result David is able to bow in the LORD’s presence. He assumes a humble, lowly position. He knows He doesn’t deserve to be there, so he expresses that knowledge by using a body position of humility. This is in contrast to his enemies who lift themselves up. They are trying to write their own rules of life. They are leaving the LORD out of their equation.
So the next time your life seems to be on a roller coaster because of the evil around you, perhaps the best place to end up is on your face before the LORD. He is able to bring about the needed changes, both in our situation and in our hearts. Assume the lowly position. Give up your ‘rights’ and allow the LORD to be in charge.
The Arnold Journey 