“I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes.” Psalm 6:6-7
Devotion:
Some people might be surprised to see this kind of language in the Bible. Faith is supposed to help us feel happy, right? Isn’t joy a fruit of the Holy Spirit? So why would a Psalm like this lead us in praying about our moaning, tears, and weeping?
The Bible is the most honest book in the world, and that means it is most true to the reality of human experience. Not only is the Bible honest, but it leads us in how to process our reality in the best way possible. The key question here is, who exactly is David talking to? David is expressing the raw sadness and weariness of his life to God—and that makes all the difference.
The only time we see Jesus in this kind of anguish in the Gospels is during His prayer to the Father before dying on the cross. Jesus was pouring out His soul before His Father, sweating blood and crying out in agony. The appropriate way to grieve, weep, and moan is to aim it at God—because the appropriate way to live all of life is to bring ourselves, however we find ourselves, into His presence. When we are broken, we don’t have to stuff it down. Instead, God leads us to come as we are into His presence.
Prayer:
Father, teach us to be more honest with You about the reality we find ourselves in. We are so used to pretending with those around us that it hinders our authenticity with You. Please lead us to embody the way of Your Psalms.
We see Jesus in anguish in the garden, and we can see ourselves there. We don’t presume that our suffering is anywhere near comparable to His, but we are thankful that He has been made like us in every way. It stirs our hearts to know that He has identified Himself with us so that we might identify ourselves with You.
Help us to grieve in godly ways and help us to grieve in human ways. In Jesus’ name, we worship and pray. Amen.
