Day 232: Psalm 39- dialog of Desperation

I 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!”
 
 
Meditation
Where do you turn in moments of desperation? God wants you to take your desperate prayers to Him. Our Father welcomes your most difficult emotions, questions, fears, and frustrations.
 
Do you feel freedom to engage God with your whole heart? Psalm 39 displays the personal development coming from engaging God with desperate prayers. Desperate prayers develop self-awareness and honest self- evaluation (1-3). Divine dialog in desperation fosters healthy situational awareness, a better perspective on life and history (4-6), and it increases dependency and felt need for deliverance (7-11).  
 
The depth of desperation is portrayed in verse 12- Hold not your peace with my tears!  Have you cried out to God with this level of intensity? If you have then you are in good company. Job (Job 7:16-17), Jeremiah, (Jeremiah 20:18), and Jesus (Luke 19:41-44) all cried out to our Father with intense prayers of desperation.
 
Often we do not participate in a Divine dialog of desperation because we either do not trust God or we are afraid to be vulnerable with God. The Lord saves those crushed in spirit and is near the broken hearted (Psalm 34:18).
 
You need not be afraid. You have a Father who hears your cries of desperation. Divine development in self-awareness, situational awareness, and an increase of Divine dependency will meet you when you desperately reach out to Him. You can trust God! Open your heart to Him in your places of desperation.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Where do you find yourself in desperate situations? Personally, relationally, socially? Will you dialog with the Divine in your desperation?
 
-Which area of development is most desirous to you- Self-awareness, situational awareness, or dependency? Why?
 
-Go to the Lord in prayer. Ask his Spirit to free you to trust Him and be not afraid. Increase your dependency on Him, especially in your most desperate situations.
 
Key Verse
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.