January 25, 2015
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Down, but not Out

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Opening Prayer

Father God, speak to me through all of life’s circumstances. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear.

Read Psalm 102:1-28

[1] A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the LORD. Hear my prayer, LORD; let my cry for help come to you. [2] Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. [3] For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers. [4] My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food. [5] In my distress I groan aloud and am reduced to skin and bones. [6] I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. [7] I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof. [8] All day long my enemies taunt me; those who rail against me use my name as a curse. [9] For I eat ashes as my food and mingle my drink with tears [10] because of your great wrath, for you have taken me up and thrown me aside. [11] My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass. [12] But you, LORD, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations. [13] You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come. [14] For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity. [15] The nations will fear the name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory. [16] For the LORD will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory. [17] He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea. [18] Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD: [19] “The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, [20] to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.” [21] So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem [22] when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the LORD. [23] In the course of my life he broke my strength; he cut short my days. [24] So I said: “Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days; your years go on through all generations. [25] In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. [26] They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. [27] But you remain the same, and your years will never end. [28] The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you.”

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“Our Lord favors us with a famine in the land that it may make us seek after himself the more” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 1834-1892).

“Spiritual desertion” (sometimes known as “the dark night of the soul”) was a term familiar to the Puritans. It describes a crisis of faith in which believers, who are walking faithfully with God, nevertheless experience circumstances that make them wonder if God has abandoned them. Inexplicably, God seems to have withdrawn from them. It is usually temporary in nature, but can last for a long time.

The writer of Psalm 102 is faced with such a crisis. He talks of personal (8) and national (13,20) catastrophe. No clear details are given, though we do know he is physically ill (3,4), desperately lonely (6,7) and close to death (23,24). He confesses no particular sin, so individual wrongdoing does not seem to be the cause, yet God’s apparent indifference makes him feel he is under divine judgment (10). Even so, he finds comfort and hope by reminding himself that God is sovereign (12), compassionate (17), almighty (25), eternal (26) and unchanging (27). He is down, but not out!

Why does God allow these “dark nights of the soul”? No adequate solution is provided by our clichés and platitudes that bring no consolation to the afflicted. And the concept of “the victorious Christian life” is emphasized so much that believers experiencing “spiritual desertion” may avoid admitting it for fear of being regarded as inferior Christians. There is, in fact, no easy answer. One legitimate explanation, however, is this: God sometimes makes us feel his absence so that we hunger and thirst for him, the Giver, more than his gifts. And also so that we can better appreciate the price paid for our redemption by Jesus who, while dying on the cross, exclaimed, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46).

Apply

Have you experienced “spiritual desertion”? Fear not! You are in good company: Martin Luther, C.H. Spurgeon and C.S. Lewis did too. And so did biblical characters like Abraham, David and Jeremiah!

Closing prayer

Lord, when I am empty, You can fill me. Holy Spirit, excavate a void in me so that I can experience Your fullness.

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