In the growing up of our lives we come face to face with
some harsh realities. It is only a
matter of time before we will experience the serrated edges of life that
penetrate our minds and slice deep into our spirits.
Losing a loved one…battling cancer…the sickness of a child…losing
a job…an empty nest…living on a too-tight budget…a rebellious child…aging…living
as a marriage-desiring single…injury and sickness…a difficult
marriage…loss of a relationship…unfulfilled dreams…rejection…betrayal…addiction…infertility
I know someone who is facing each of these aspects of life
today, and I’m guessing that you do too.
I’m also guessing that we could both put ourselves in this list
somewhere. My heart is heavy for the
depths of pain that many are experiencing.
How do we wade through these inevitable seasons of life?
One common response is to become overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with grief, sadness, anxiety,
depression, emptiness, or despair. Do you know the feeling? It’s as if you’re struggling to come to the water’s
surface for a gasp of fresh air, while a myriad of weights around your waist
and ankles are pulling you under? And as the mind, the emotions, and the heart
become overwhelmed- life can seem unbearable.
In the Psalms David speaks of his heart being overwhelmed. Even
David, the king of Israel
and the man after God’s own heart, knew what it was to be overwhelmed.
The meaning of “overwhelmed” in this line of David’s is- to languish,
to be clothed in darkness, covered over, faint, weak, and feeble. Do you know the feeling?
Taking it a bit deeper, to
languish means to be or live in a state of depression or decreasing
vitality; to become dispirited. Do you
know the feeling? David did.
David’s answer to the “overwhelming” undertow was to face
the Father.
And what a beautiful picture he gives us in facing God! David does not have to hide himself. Though he is languishing, he does not conceal
it. Though his heart is clothed in darkness he does not have to hide this
darkness of heart from God. Though he is
“covered over” he is able to uncover himself with God. He does not have to bury the places where he
is faint, weak, and feeble. Nor does David have to change any of this on
his own. He simply brings himself, fully overwhelmed, to the feet of the Father,
and cries out.
Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee,
when my heart is overwhelmed:
lead me to the rock that
is higher than I. Psalm 61:2
What a simple answer. Cry out to God. Bare your heart before Him. Open your life’s secrets to His welcoming
presence. Pull yourself away from the
noisy world around you and look straight into Him with the honesty of your
life.
