2 Have mercy on me, O Lord , for I am weak; O Lord , heal me, for my bones are troubled.
I came across a book tonight that my grandmother had about friendship and the page I opened to made me think of my followers of this blog, for it is titled "Friendship in Progress": Just as iron sharpens iron, friends sharpen the minds of each other (Proverbs 27:17 CEV). It goes on to explain how friends challenge each other to reach their full potential that God has set in motion. Like we are all doing here, gathering to learn, share, teach, love.....which will eventually, hopefully, sharpen our minds, but it will only occur if we all put in the effort to honestly share our hopes, dreams, desires, abilities and our spirituality throughout this growing in faith. It will not be easy, it will take emmense courage to honestly communicate with each other, to trust that those who are here are all here for the same purpose, to learn about how God can heal us and make us feel whole again!
I participated in a Bible Study just on Psalms, it was the most informative, thorough, and difficult but enjoyable learning experience. We even wrote and shared our own self written Psalm.......using the format we learned about that all Psalms of lament follow. Here is an excerpt from reformed worship.org
that explained the layout of Psalms of Lament:
Request. A lament expects a response or an answer. It expects that God will be able to do something about the situation. Most often the request sounds like a demand: it is the psalmist’s essential heart-rending cry, “God, do something!”
Expression of trust. A lament generally includes an explicit expression of trust, sometimes woven through the complaint and request, and other times concluding the psalm with an almost jarring note of praise. Some expressions of trust are such a startling departure from the rest of the psalm (“I am in the midst of lions; I lie among ravenous beasts—men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth,” Ps. 57:4-5) that they seem to sharply divide the psalm into two parts: lament and praise. But to understand biblical lament properly, we must acknowledge that the expression of trust, with all its praise and joy, is part of a psalm of lament.
Biblical lament, then, is an honest cry to a God who is powerful, good, and just
a cry that this situation is not in alignment with God’s person or purposes. It’s a cry that expects an answer from God, and therefore results in hope, trust, and joy rather than despair.
This understanding of lament makes it much easier for us to apply the psalms of lament to our own lives and to the life of our congregation. Indeed, we begin to see that biblical lament is necessary in a world that does not always operate according to God’s purposes.
In utilizing the above structure we can see that our verse cries out an address, "Have mercy on me, O Lord" then it names the complaint, "for I am weak", followed by a request, "O Lord, heal me", with an ending of trust "For my bones are troubled". I felt the hardest one to grasp was the "expression of trust", because how is telling The Lord that my bones are troubled (which ironically they are and the reason I am here typing at 2:15am) saying that I trust you? After re-reading and contemplating this for a bit I came to understand that telling God about my bones being troubled is expressing to Him that I know this state of suffering I am in right now does not fit in the concept of His heavenly world or His plan for me in this life, that I am reaching to Him because I trust that He agrees and will fix or offer me a better understanding of what my life should be focusing on right now. Does this make any sense?
How do you call out to your God? What does it take for you to ask Him for help? Do you trust Him to answer you and offer a solution? Do you praise Him for all He has offered to you in this world? Do you doubt His love for you? Do you fear your current situation? Do you allow yourself the ability to heal, grow, change, love, trust, praise, hope, dream, and communicate your feelings to others? I ask these questions my fellow Alien readers, because we need each other for survival in this life, God chose for our paths to cross for a reason, whether its for this blog or something else yet to come, I believe in Him and trust His choices for my life, so I in turn trust you!!! God Bless
I leave you now with a verse that spoke volumes and gave me so much to contemplate, may it be a blessing and an opportunity for growth for you as well!
Hebrews 3:14
If we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.
that explained the layout of Psalms of Lament:
STRUCTURE OF A LAMENT
Address. A biblical lament cries out to God. This is not an internally focused process of grieving, it is first and foremost a prayer, a conversation. When we further consider the God to whom we cry, this aspect of a lament psalm, brief as it may be (“My God, my God”; Ps. 22) takes on even greater significance. We cry to an omnipotent God, a good and merciful God, a just God, a God who grants us access to himself and invites us into personal relationship with him.
Complaint. A lament honestly and specifically names a situation or circumstance that is painful, wrong, or unjust—in other words, a circumstance that does not align with God’s character and therefore does not make sense within God’s kingdom. The emotional tone of the complaint varies, depending on the type of lament psalm. It may express sorrow, remorse, weariness, anger, disappointment, or doubt.Request. A lament expects a response or an answer. It expects that God will be able to do something about the situation. Most often the request sounds like a demand: it is the psalmist’s essential heart-rending cry, “God, do something!”
Expression of trust. A lament generally includes an explicit expression of trust, sometimes woven through the complaint and request, and other times concluding the psalm with an almost jarring note of praise. Some expressions of trust are such a startling departure from the rest of the psalm (“I am in the midst of lions; I lie among ravenous beasts—men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth,” Ps. 57:4-5) that they seem to sharply divide the psalm into two parts: lament and praise. But to understand biblical lament properly, we must acknowledge that the expression of trust, with all its praise and joy, is part of a psalm of lament.
Biblical lament, then, is an honest cry to a God who is powerful, good, and just
a cry that this situation is not in alignment with God’s person or purposes. It’s a cry that expects an answer from God, and therefore results in hope, trust, and joy rather than despair.
This understanding of lament makes it much easier for us to apply the psalms of lament to our own lives and to the life of our congregation. Indeed, we begin to see that biblical lament is necessary in a world that does not always operate according to God’s purposes.
In utilizing the above structure we can see that our verse cries out an address, "Have mercy on me, O Lord" then it names the complaint, "for I am weak", followed by a request, "O Lord, heal me", with an ending of trust "For my bones are troubled". I felt the hardest one to grasp was the "expression of trust", because how is telling The Lord that my bones are troubled (which ironically they are and the reason I am here typing at 2:15am) saying that I trust you? After re-reading and contemplating this for a bit I came to understand that telling God about my bones being troubled is expressing to Him that I know this state of suffering I am in right now does not fit in the concept of His heavenly world or His plan for me in this life, that I am reaching to Him because I trust that He agrees and will fix or offer me a better understanding of what my life should be focusing on right now. Does this make any sense?
How do you call out to your God? What does it take for you to ask Him for help? Do you trust Him to answer you and offer a solution? Do you praise Him for all He has offered to you in this world? Do you doubt His love for you? Do you fear your current situation? Do you allow yourself the ability to heal, grow, change, love, trust, praise, hope, dream, and communicate your feelings to others? I ask these questions my fellow Alien readers, because we need each other for survival in this life, God chose for our paths to cross for a reason, whether its for this blog or something else yet to come, I believe in Him and trust His choices for my life, so I in turn trust you!!! God Bless
I leave you now with a verse that spoke volumes and gave me so much to contemplate, may it be a blessing and an opportunity for growth for you as well!
Hebrews 3:14
If we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.
I can see how we need to "Cry Out" to God when we are Sick, Hurt, lost, or suffering, but again do we forget to Cry out when life is good. thinking back to the beginning of the post. how and why are we all listening to your words. (LIGHTBULB) We are reading because we are all compassionate and caring. We all Pray for Healing for others just as much as we pray for ourselfs. As I sit here reading Im touched, touched by what your asking. How do I call out?
ReplyDeleteOH LOrd in Jesus Name I Pray.
I pray for our needs ( its more than asking him to take care of me, I would rather see someone else blessed with healing than to receive healing myself. I totally believe God will answer our prayers. We need to understand he may not answer right away. Do you see the birds praying befor they eat the worms in the yard? the birds and all the animals are pure at Heart. like a child, they have nothing to worry about. all thier needs will be taken care of.but as Adults we have faults, we are not perfect. so we need to ask our Holy Father in Heaven for our needs. This is what I got out of reading this, what ever our needs we need to Cry Out and ask. Lord - Thank you for Talking with Denese and having her share your word. Thank you for bringing us together,and we can worship you .in Jesus Holy Name AMEN
I Love Psalms well I love reading all the bible.
ReplyDeleteDo I have Fears?? Of course I do I am human. When pain is so bad and health seems to be so down of course I fear. Do I fear dying? No because I know where God is taking me and it will be a better place than here. I fear leaving Ben. I fear leaving You!
When I cry out to God I usually cry out. Oh Lord My Blessed Father you know the needs before I even speak. A lot of the time my prayers are for other people. Like today. Lord please allow this lady to find what she is seeking and know you better. We all have been crying out to the Lord to help Ben find a job.
Today he found one. When he came in the door shouting Whoo Hooo Viv I got it. I threw my hands up in the air and I said Praise God. Oh Praise God!! I do think it is important for us to praise him and thank him when he supplies our needs.
To thank him even when he is telling us to wait. And sometimes that is the answer. Wait!
I Love the song Praise Him In the Storm! Because no matter how stormy it gets for us with chronic pain and illness and other suffering we still must cry out and praise him even if he is not healing us right away! Who knows what he has in store for us. So we walk by Faith!!! WE Need each other and God Bless you for taking us all through this journey with you. Thank God for allowing you the ability to write this out. Thank God for you being my little sister. So Yes we all need one another. We should all continue to pray for one another. And Praise God through it all. Wonderful Lesson!
Frequently when I pray I make it a point to thank God for the good in my life but the trials and tribulations as well. For although we all wish for a life of good and ease in many cases it is the trials and tribulations that do the most to make us who we are. If my parents hadn't separated when I was a teen or if my mother hadn't passed away when I turned 18 I would have been a much different person than I am today. Or what if I wasn't deployed to the middle east for the first gulf war I would have never met or married Denise. So even in bad there is good, God sends us those we need in life for a reason. It may be just a brief relationship or it may be a lifetime but He knows what He is doing and we need to follow His lead not our own.
ReplyDeleteBill