Daily Worship

My times are in your hands

April 09, 2017 0 2

Psalm 31:9-16

9 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
    my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
    my soul and body with grief.
10 My life is consumed by anguish
    and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,[a]
    and my bones grow weak.
11 Because of all my enemies,
    I am the utter contempt of my neighbours
and an object of dread to my closest friends –
    those who see me on the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten as though I were dead;
    I have become like broken pottery.
13 For I hear many whispering,
    ‘Terror on every side!’
They conspire against me
    and plot to take my life.

14 But I trust in you, Lord;
    I say, ‘You are my God.’
15 My times are in your hands;
    deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
    from those who pursue me.
16 Let your face shine on your servant;
    save me in your unfailing love.

‘I am exhausted by sorrow.’  Psalm 31:9

When my children grew up and left home, I thought I would only be needed to give sage advice on the odd occasion it was required.  I never wanted to be one of those people who say ‘Being a parent gets harder’; I wanted to say, ‘it just gets different’.  

Now I know the reality of the Psalmist’s words.  But it is not my journey; it is their journey.  They have all been brought up to know who You are, Lord.  They made their own commitment of faith.  Now I must keep my thoughts between us and only voice them if asked.   I am so tired of the worry, Lord.  I feel a hundred years old.   But I must let go and let God.

Lord: You knew trouble.  You knew anxiety.  You knew worry.  The hosannas of Palm Sunday when the crowd went wild proclaiming Your Kingship were not long in changing into bitter baying for Your blood.  You travelled such a hard road to the Cross.  But You did this for all of us, so that we know – that You know – how this seemingly endless struggle really feels.

And because You won through, we can too.  Help me to hold onto this truth Lord Jesus.  Amen.  

‘But my trust is in You, O Lord.  I am always in Your care.’  Psalm 31:14-15