Several years ago, at a Senior Adult Rally, I shared that I had had three heart attacks, three-way by-pass surgery, and two strokes. I can’t see and need cataract surgery; I have rheumatism, arthritis, my knees hurt and creak and pop as I walk. My hips hurt and my back hurts. I can’t sleep at night and I can’t stay awake during the day. I spend more time in the doctor’s office than I do anywhere else. I go to the kitchen and can’t remember what I went there for, and I stand at the bottom of the stairs and can’t remember if I am going up or I have just come down. I am a mess, but praise the Lord, I STILL HAVE MY DRIVER’S LICENSE!
The Moral of this story is: Though things seem to be bad, there is always something to the thankful for. Or, look on the bright-side, things could always be worse!
Psalm 38 is a Psalm of David; penned by the great King of Israel. You would think he had everything going for him (power, prestige, wealth), but David had his times of woe! Let me share some brief highlights from the psalm.
David felt chastened by the Lord; feeling as though his heart had been pierced through with arrows. He felt God’s hand pressing down on him. He was depressed. He felt that there was no soundness in his bones; the conviction from sin was a heavy burden. He was feeble and severely broken. His family and friends turned against him and laid snares for him.
How depressing! But note verse 15. “For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord, my God.”
Hope! We all need it! If we do not have hope, we will feel just as David did; as one who is wondering and alone. But what do we hope for? A brighter tomorrow? Just one day without trials, tribulations, or pain? I suppose so, but hope should not be in circumstances and situations. The hope that we have should be in the Person of God as David also declared: “Hope thou in God.”
The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans saying: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:1-5)
The summary: We have peace with God. We have access into God’s presence by faith. We rejoice in hope. We glory in tribulations. We persevere. And we are not disappointed because God loves us more than we will ever know.
- Pastor Jerry Dunn, Oak Street Baptist Church