Closer Day 15

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Closer Day 15

January 28, 2024

Read: Psalm 39

1I said, “I will guard my ways,

that I may not sin with my tongue;

I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,

so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

2 I was mute and silent;

I held my peace to no avail,

and my distress grew worse.

3 My heart became hot within me.

As I mused, the fire burned;

then I spoke with my tongue:

4 “O Lord, make me know my end

and what is the measure of my days;

let me know how fleeting I am!

5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,

and my lifetime is as nothing before you.

Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

6 Surely a man goes about as a shadow!

Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;

man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?

My hope is in you.

8 Deliver me from all my transgressions.

Do not make me the scorn of the fool!

9 I am mute; I do not open my mouth,

for it is you who have done it.

10 Remove your stroke from me;

I am spent by the hostility of your hand.

11 When you discipline a man

with rebukes for sin,

you consume like a moth what is dear to him;

surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,

and give ear to my cry;

hold not your peace at my tears!

For I am a sojourner with you,

a guest, like all my fathers.

13 Look away from me, that I may smile again,

before I depart and am no more!”

Reflect:

Psalm 39 is a psalm of desperation. Very honest desperation. I love what Pastor Tim Keller writes, “It is remarkable that God not only allows his creatures to complain to him of their ills but actually records those wails in his Word…the very presence of such prayers in Scripture is a witness to His understanding. He knows how men speak when they are desperate.” I love that! God knows how we speak when we are desperate. So, when we are suffering, hurting, and desperate, let’s not heap up empty, worthless prayers trying to please God or hold back the truth, but be honest with Him. Tell him of your suffering. Tell him when you're upset, worried, confused, whatever it is. I believe when we’re honest with God and speaking to Him like we would a loving Father, we actually begin to believe He is listening. When we believe God is listening, at some point, we’ll stop and wait to hear back from Him. As David says, “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.”

Prayer:

Pray and be honest with God today. If things are going well, then give thanks for those things. If things are hard, tell Him. Ask Him to bring relief. But most of all, trust that God hears. And He loves you. He loves you just as much when you’re suffering as when you’re giving thanks.

More from Closer: 21 Days of Prayer (2024)

Closer Day 21

February 3, 2024

Read: Psalm 44 1O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: 2 you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; 3 for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them. 4 You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob! 5 Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us. 6 For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. 7 But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. 8 In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah 9 But you have rejected us and disgraced us and have not gone out with our armies. 10 You have made us turn back from the foe, and those who hate us have gotten spoil. 11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter and have scattered us among the nations. 12 You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them. 13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us. 14 You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. 15 All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face 16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger. 17 All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant. 18 Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way; 19 yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death. 20 If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, 21 would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. 22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. 23 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! 24 Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? 25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground. 26 Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love! Reflect: Humiliation and failure can lead us to some pretty scary places. When these things happen, it can be easy to question God and His goodness. This reality is seen through Psalm 44. The beginning of the psalm (v.1-8) reflects God’s faithfulness as He has given Israel victory over their enemies time and time again. However, past performance does not always mean future success. It seems that Israel was dealt a humiliating defeat at the hands of the nation’s enemies. This leads the psalmist to accuse God of abandonment (v. 9), of making Israel the object of disgrace and shame (v. 15) and leading them to death (v. 22). We can't know the entire context of Psalm 44, but we can hear the disappointment and frustration of the psalmist in their failure. Isn't it amazing how quick we can be to accuse God when we put expectations on Him that He doesn't meet? Although this can be a natural response, we can’t stay in this place forever. Even when it feels like everything you had planned goes down the drain, we have a God that uses and redeems our failure and even our humiliation (Rom. 8:28). God has done this all through Scripture and continues to do this in the lives of His people each and every day. Even while under the shadow of failure, the psalmist remembers that God does not fail. Although the sting of humiliation and defeat are like an open wound, he remembers the unending love of God and goes to Him in prayer in expectation of His rescue (v. 26). Life has a way of bringing us to our knees and even bringing out frustration towards God. However, in those moments, all we have to do is fix our eyes on the cross of Christ and know that God has done more for us than we could ever ask in giving us Jesus. Prayer: God, thank you for being a God that wastes nothing. Even in failure and humiliation, You are piecing together a perfect story in spite of our failure. Through Your Spirit, free us from feelings of anger, frustration, or even entitlement as things turn out differently than how we planned. Thank you for Your steadfast love.

Closer Day 20

February 2, 2024

Read: Psalm 43 1 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me! 2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! 4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. Reflect: The Psalms have many strong characteristics, but one of the strongest is the honesty that can be found in these texts. There is no sugar-coating or taking the edge off of any emotion that is directed at God. It’s great news to know that we can go to our King without having to fix ourselves or manage our emotions, but in full honesty, we can talk to God and know that He not only listens but also that He deeply cares. In Psalm 43, we see this honesty in vivid detail as the psalmist is dealing with hatred and oppression that is coming from his enemies. In the midst of these attacks, he cries out, “why have you rejected me? (v.2)” Although we are not facing enemies on a literal battlefield, we are at odds with the broader culture that surrounds us. As we walk through and navigate life, there might even be times where you feel alone and isolated as you seek to follow the Lord. In these times, take heart: God has never left your side. In spite of the honest cries of abandonment from the psalmist, he ultimately comes back to finding comfort in the presence of an unfailing God. The writer shares that God’s faithfulness and light leads him to a “holy mountain” (v. 3). It is this precious place where we will experience God as our joy and delight, regardless of what is going on around us. Prayer: Father, we are grateful that You allow us to come to You with our emotions and pleas with full honesty. The fact that You receive us as loved sons and daughters is a gift that we do not deserve. Thank you for not abandoning us even when we lack faith. Encourage us and strengthen us as we live out the mission You have given each of us in a world that continues to grow more challenging for those who are trying to be faithful to You and Your Kingdom.

Closer Day 19

February 1, 2024

Read: Psalm 42 1As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” 4 These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation 6 and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. 8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. 9 I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” 10 As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” 11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. Reflect: To have an encounter with God starts with a desire for Him. It is not something that we can conjure up or will into happening. The experience of intimacy with God comes when it is the very thing that we want the most. In our text, we see the psalmist say that they yearn for God as a deer “pants for flowing streams (v. 1).” This is someone who desperately yearns for what only God can give. As the psalm progresses, we see that one of the reasons the psalmist is so desperate for God is that they are struggling. They are in a dark moment of life that they describe as so painful that they cry out, “tears have been my food day and night (v. 3).” That sounds about as dark as it gets. Have you ever been there? Somewhere where the pain is great, and there seems to be no hope in sight. Although these places are scary, they are also places where we trust God with pain and fear. He is our everything. He is our only place of comfort and peace. In the middle of the despair of the psalmist, he comes back to the foundation of his life. In the midst of difficulty and an attack from those who hate him, he finds a ray of hope. This hope drives a renewed perspective, even in the valley of life, that causes him to plead hope over his soul. To his soul, he cries out to “hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God (v.11).” This might be the very thing that God is calling you to do today. Even if you don’t feel like praising God because of the circumstances that you find yourself in, to command your soul to remember the hope of your salvation breathes new life, a new hope, into our hearts. It is this hope that reminds us that there is nothing in this life or this world that we have to fear. This truth should provide comfort and peace to us even in the lowest points of our lives. Prayer: Thank you for being a God who saves. Thank you for being a God that uses and redeems all things in our life for Your glory and our good. Help me to trust You more. Through Your Spirit, remind me of the unshakable hope that You have given me through salvation. Fortify my soul, drive out fear and anxiety, and allow me to experience Your peace, knowing that You can be trusted with everything.