Old Testament: Zechariah 1 & 2
Poetry: Psalm 142
New Testament: Matthew 28
In my opinion, David had an amazing life. They chose him to be king! That’s something pretty impressive we can’t say (unless there are any kings reading this). He was a hero as a young child when he took down Goliath. That was such an impressive feat that someone made a song about him that we sang in Sunday School all the time. Has anyone made a song about you? Probably not (unless you are one of these people: Delilah, Billie Jean, Roxanne, Jude, Mickey, Jack and Diane, Mrs. Robinson, and some others). David had his ups and downs in life, but he seemed to have it together pretty well. It was a bit surprising to hear what he had to say in Psalms 142.
Apparently, he was hiding out in a cave when he wrote this, so he probably wasn’t having one of his better days. He starts out by crying out to God for mercy and telling him his trouble. He says his spirit is growing faint and that no one is concerned about him. In verse 4, he says that no one cares for his life. He tells God to listen to his cry because he was in desperate need. Clearly, David was down and out and feeling very alone. If that state of mind can happen to someone like David, it could happen to anyone. We all know that millions of people every day feel like this; probably some of you reading this. There are a lot of hurting people in our world.
It hit me to write about this topic because it is two days before Christmas, and I think a lot of these lonely feelings are magnified on the holidays for many, especially at Christmastime. We know the true meaning of Christmas has to do with the birth of Christ and you can celebrate that on your own, but the holiday has also become an important time for family for many. There are many family traditions celebrated and family gatherings taking place. This is how I knew I had cousins. But not everyone has a great family situation, and some have little to no family at all. Or maybe they don’t live anywhere near their family. Unfortunately, holidays can make people feel a lot like what David was feeling.
In verse 7, David compared his situation to being in prison and asked God to set him free so that he could go back to praising him. However, it was the end of verse 7 that caught my attention. David ends by saying that the righteous will gather around him because of God’s goodness to him. There may be someone crying out to God at this moment because they feel lonely and think nobody cares about them. That person needs some righteous people to gather around them, so they know God is still good. You and I need to be on the lookout for these people and be willing to sacrifice some time to surround them with some love. I also have a suggestion for anyone who is feeling lonely themselves; be on the lookout for others who are hurting and be willing to sacrifice some time to surround them with some love.
Obviously, there are countless ways you can make a difference in someone’s life. It is not difficult to figure that part out; the difficult part can be following through and doing it. I challenge you to find someone that could use some lifting up. I doubt it will take long to think of someone, but then move beyond the thinking to the doing.
Reflection Questions:
Have you ever stopped to think about those around you or are you too busy with your own Christmas celebration? Can you think of someone who may be having a tough Christmas because they are feeling lonely?
What are some practical things you could do to let someone hurting know they are loved?
-Rick McClain
Seek Grow Love 