*Old Testament: Job 1 & 2
*Poetry: Psalm 31
New Testament: John 11
Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.
Among all my enemies I am a disgrace, and among my neighbors even more. I am dreaded by my friends—they flee when they see me on the street.
I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery.
If I told you that the above passage was from the book of Job, you’d probably believe me. But King David wrote those words in Psalm 31. He is in distress, weak with sorrow and grief, groaning and weak in his affliction. He is shamed and disgraced by those around him, broken. The description of his anguish is amazingly similar to Job’s experience.
Interestingly, while David describes himself as ‘broken pottery,’ Job uses broken pottery to scrape his oozing boils.
loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. Job 2:7-8
I say…Ew. But Job said,
Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD. Job 1:21
Would you be surprised to see that David echoes the wisdom of Job?
Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help. Psalm 31:21-22
Blessed be the name of the LORD.
I think that praise from the depths is maybe the most beautiful praise. It is certainly the most trusting. David, in his Psalm, invites us to join him in his trust, and I invite you to carry these words with you today:
Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD! Psalm 31:24
-Susan Landry
Reflection Questions
- What does it look like to wait for/on the Lord?
- What steps can we take to help our heart take courage when we are in the depths?
- What can we learn from the examples of David and Job?
Seek Grow Love 