October 13th, 2013
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

God on Mute

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, Yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory. I affirm and rejoice in this great truth.

Read Psalm 38:1-22

[1] A psalm of David. A petition. LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. [2] Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me. [3] Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin. [4] My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. [5] My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. [6] I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning. [7] My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. [8] I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart. [9] All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. [10] My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes. [11] My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away. [12] Those who want to kill me set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they scheme and lie. [13] I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, like the mute, who cannot speak; [14] I have become like one who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply. [15] LORD, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God. [16] For I said, “Do not let them gloat or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.” [17] For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. [18] I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. [19] Many have become my enemies without cause; those who hate me without reason are numerous. [20] Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me, though I seek only to do what is good. [21] LORD, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God. [22] Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION

Meditate

“For the most part, [the Bible speaks] to us … the psalms speak for us. The psalms … are the heartfelt, gut-wrenching cries of people like us” (Matt Redman).

Think Further

Where is God when I am in pain, in prison, in exile, sold into slavery? The stories of Scripture show us that God is with us even when we suffer, and the psalms give us the language to express such a reality. If you’ve ever been intoxicated by the idea that faith is a pathway to instant success, the key to a pain-free life and the guarantee of health and wealth, Psalm 38 will sober you up in an instant. Its list of complaints includes sickness, pain, abandonment, isolation, exhaustion, anguish, persecution, frustration, victimization, and the apparent absence of God.

Should such a psalm be included in the songbook of God’s people? Are such bitter complaints worthy of the canon of Scripture? The answer to both questions is a resounding yes! Psalm 38 tells us that all our concerns are worthy of our prayers; that God’s ear is not closed to our sufferings; that no matter what our circumstances, we can come to God and say, “Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior” (22). Eugene Peterson writes, “I need a language that is large enough to maintain continuities, supple enough to express nuances across a lifetime, that brackets child and adult experiences, and courageous enough to explore all the countries of sin and salvation, mercy and grace, creation and covenant, anxiety and trust, unbelief and faith that comprise the continental human condition. … Where will we acquire a language that is adequate for these intensities? Where else but in the Psalms?”

Apply

Read the first 21 verses of this psalm. Is there any season of your life that it not included here? What does it mean to you, in every season, to pray the words of v. 22?

Closing prayer

Heavenly Father, it doesn’t matter what life throws at me, I have the assurance that nothing can ever separate me from Your love, not life or death, demonic activity or powers. Nothing. (Rom. 8:37-39).

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