Stress; a six letter word that I have come to loathe because I believe we overuse it.
Why do I think this? When my 9 year old who lives as an upper middle class child says she is stressed, I wonder. I usually, gently, let her know that she is using the wrong word and that her life does not revolve around stress. So many people live in much more difficult situations and you would think they are the happiest people on earth.
One such person was the great King David! Samuel anointed him king as a young lad but it took years for King Saul to die. In the meantime, David was sought after to be killed and was on the run for years. Then, he became king and his life became even more difficult with trial after trial and yet he wrote so many of our beautiful psalms.
Psalm 55 is one such passage that if you know the story behind it, you’ll see the stress he was truly under. Absalom, his son, was in rebellion as he tried to usurp his father, King David. Ahithophel, David’s trusted advisor, betrayed him by siding with Absalom. It was a very difficult time in David’s life not only as king of Israel but as a father.
What did David do?
A Plea To God
In verse 1, David brought a plea to his God. “Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.” He was stressed and probably looked around on earth wondering who were his true friends. He knew that God would hear him so he sent out this plea. Hear me, God, is what he was asking. When are lives are falling apart do we go immediately to the Source of all strength? Or, do we fall on the ground, paralyzed by anxiety and fear? Our plea should be with David. We should be asking God to listen to us as we pour out our grief to Him.
A Place Of Pain
This world is a broken and fallen world. We will experience pain because we are not in a perfect place yet. David experienced a lot of pain in his life both physical and spiritual. He cried out in verse 2 with a human response. “Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise.” He admitted to God that he was in pain. He admitted to himself in praying to God that he could not handle this on our own. Sometimes we need the pain to realize just how frail we are as humans. This frailty turns us to our Savior and reminds us our strength comes from Him. David recognized this.
A Prayer Of Honesty
Honesty is a rare commodity today not only in our interaction with other people but with ourselves. How honest are you with yourself. David had to look at his situation and recognize that he was in a very stressful place. “Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.”
He knew the enemy (his one time friend) was oppressing him. He knew he needed God’s help. His pain was real and his honesty was raw. He cried out to his Lord. If you are in a stressful situation and your back is against the wall; you have the best defense; a cry to God. He will always hear you. He will always answer you. His will is the perfect “destresser” for our lives.
David continues in the psalm to explain what happened. He tells us of the man, his friend, who deceived him. He pours out his heart to God in complete agony. But, he doesn’t leave his life there. He isn’t whining to God about how rotten his life is. David reaches forth and grasps the truth that God is his help.
He knows that God will be victorious in his life. David shows us the end when in verse 18 he acknowledges this beautiful truth. “He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me.” God delivers. His ultimate plan for us is not to live in stress but to live in the knowledge that this world, as harsh as it can be, has nothing on an Almighty God.
Stressed? Anxious? In need of deliverance? Go to your Source of strength. God will take that stress and turn it into joy. He knows the path you are walking and He is right there beside you! Lean on Him today!
“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22
