Hope from Psalm 107

Some were fools through their sinful ways,

and because of their iniquities suffered

affliction;

they loathed any kind of food,

and they drew near to the gates of death.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

He sent out his word and healed them,

and delivered them from their destruction.

Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast

love,

for his wondrous works to the children of

man!

Psalm 107:17-21

I don’t do this whole blogging thing much, but when I do, my aim is usually to take something I’ve learned or am learning, that I think that other people could benefit from or be encouraged by, and put it into words.

We all sin. And maybe it’s just me, but I go through times in my life where I feel like I’m just constantly in sin. I know that the things that I’m doing, thinking, saying are sinful, but I do them anyway.  And after a while, it just begins to build up and beat down.  I carry this burden of guilt around with me like it’s my best friend, and tell myself that God is probably pretty disappointed in me.  And it’s in those times that my tendency is to run from God.  I stop praying, stop reading, stop seeking and just try to make things work without God, because how am I supposed to go to God after I sin in the same way time after time after time?

Lately I’ve been there. Maybe you have too. But I came across Psalm 107 which has some very hopeful words to share with those who feel defeated by their own sin. The Psalm talks about thanking the Lord for his steadfast love over and over. And there are four different circumstances described where people are in distress and God delivers them from their distress. Two of these circumstances describe people that are in physical distress: hunger, thirst, life-threatening situations. The other two seem to be more spiritual in nature. Verses 10 and 11 say,

Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
Psalm 107:10,11

Hmmm…. Sounds a lot like what I described above. But then you get to verses 13 and 14 and look what the Bible says,

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.
Psalm 107:13,14

YES! They had rebelled against God and in their pride said that they could do things on their own. They didn’t want his help. But once they had gotten to the end of their rope, they turned to God, and he delivered them from their distress.

If you read the passage I quoted at the beginning, the same thing is true. These people were sinful fools and because of their sin they were suffering the consequences. Life was bleak, to the point that they hated food (and that’s pretty bleak). But the Bible says the same thing. They cried to the Lord, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them.

So my natural tendency is to shy away from the one whom I feel like I’ve disappointed. But the Bible says to do the exact opposite. Come to him. Cry out to him. Remind yourself that he has dealt with our sins already and extends forgiveness and repentance for us to live in. He gives us the gospel so that we can preach it to others but also to ourselves and let it transform our desires so that we don’t want what is wrong anymore but what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2). Remind yourself that his love is steadfast and that he really does love you. Paul even prays that the Ephesians would have strength to comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge so that they would be filled with the fullness of God (Ephesians 4:18,19). So we need God’s strength just to even begin to comprehend how much he loves us. We can’t get that strength if we’re running from him.

To end, I think the last verse of the psalm is very appropriate:

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
Psalm 107:43