Lonely and Afflicted
2004 : Week 19  |  Printer Friendly Version  

If our world wasn’t fallen, we wouldn’t have a message like Psalm 25; there would be no cries of anguish; there would be no heartbreak, and there would be no sin. Even someone as special as King David, a warrior, musician, poet and great leader, felt the weight of the world push down on Him.

It’s easy for us to feel alone, even on a planet of 5 billion people. Sometimes, those closest to us will hurt us, and we feel like we have no one to turn to; betrayal can hurt us like nothing else can. To love someone, the way God would like us to, means we are vulnerable. We look for the best in people. We love them with a child like quality that leaves us transparent before them and God, but we can be hurt, when we love this way.

Before we’re quick to come down on others for the pain they have caused us, we should check to see if we’ve ever been on the other end of the spectrum; have we brought pain into another’s life through our careless actions?

For example, as sympathetic as we are for David in today’s verses, was he not the man who had an affair with Bathsheba? While Uriah was out doing battle to defend David’s kingdom, David had an affair with his wife. Further, he sent Uriah back into a fierce battle in the hopes that he would die, and he did. In his life David was betrayed by those he cared about, but he also betrayed those who cared about him.

This isn’t an attempt to put David or any one else on trial; this is a reminder that we are all sinners in a lost world. Sometimes we are hurt and sometimes we do the hurting.

David realized he was not perfect, and he knew the Lord saw everything: from his bravest triumphs to his lowest moments in the pit of sin. In verse 18, David, broken by his wandering ways, asks the Lord to, ‘forgive all his sins’. This is humility; David understands his place before God and begs for forgiveness. Like him, even in the midst of your trials, stop and ask the Lord for forgiveness. As is often the case in our lives, we are quick to remember the times we have been hurt, but we are not so quick to remember the times we have hurt people.

In verse 15 David shows his faith when he says that, ‘his eyes were continually towards the Lord’. It’s one of the beautiful aspects of this passage: David sees the terrible circumstances he’s in, but he cries to God for help. Further, it’s not just a cry for help; it’s a cry that expects God to rescue him:

	15 My eyes are continually toward the LORD, For He will pluck my feet out of the net.
	Psalm 25:15 (NASB)

Pray to God for help, perseverance and strength in your time of trouble, and have confidence that He will answer.

As a chosen child of God, His love goes out to you, regardless of your circumstances. If you feel the loneliness and pain of heartache, affliction or betrayal, Jesus, above all others, understands what you feel. He was betrayed when He walked this earth, and if the truth be known, we have all betrayed Him. Still, God’s love is such that He never leaves those He has chosen: never. God will be your strength, when you cannot bear the trial any longer.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you today and always…



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