[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during August 2022]
Recently, Jeremy Clarkson of TV fame was boasting about what he had achieved despite not having done at all well in his school exams. In his own unique style he was trying to encourage those whose end of school exam results had not gone to plan, arguing that it is possible to recover from such disappointment. I can concur with that point of view since my own results were, arguably, only marginally better than his.
I do not know whether Mr Clarkson was ever threatened with ‘six of the best’ – a punishing experience for those miscreants whose behaviour warranted a persuasive form of correction. It seems that the opening verse of Psalm 6 might have been an appropriate cry for clemency:
Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long? Psalm 6 v 1-3 [NIVUK]
This psalm is ascribed to David. We are used to David’s psalms being songs of praise and confidence even when he has gone astray and is expressing his repentance but this one speaks of unrelieved agony. Can we identify with David’s situation?
In 1 Kings chapter 19 we read that the great prophet Elijah had similar feelings. After the triumph of the conquest of Baal at Mount Carmel, he was now fleeing for his life. He was on his own, he could see no future, there was no point in going on.
There are times when, even in the most disciplined of lives, we find ourselves in times of trouble. For us, it may not be physical suffering; a sense of failure can be just as stressful. We can attempt to run away from our problems, but that offers only short-term relief. We are tempted to echo Jeremiah’s words: “Is any suffering like my suffering?”[1]
Eventually David recognised that relief would come:
The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. Ibid, v 9
David, Elijah and Jeremiah found relief when they focussed on God more than on their problems. That’s all very well for them but what does that offer for us? We each have access to God as individuals but we do not have to suffer as individuals. We are members of a Christian community where it is likely that someone else has had the same experiences, someone who can show us that a setback in one area can be God’s way of refining our plans.
Jeremiah may be known as the weeping prophet but he carried a message of encouragement too:
For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29 v11 [AMP]
[1] Lamentations 1 v12
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
A helpful and thought provoking message!