#DailyDevotion It’s Ok To Bring Your Complaints To God In Faith
Psalm 88 O LORD God, You can save me.
The psalmist begins his prayer by addressing the LORD as God and looks to Him alone for salvation. It’s a good place to start. There is salvation in no one else in this life or the next. Any help we receive in this life is sent to us by the LORD. It is only Him that can get us into the blessed place in the next.
During the day I call, and at night I’m before you. 2May my prayer come into Your presence; listen to my cry.
The psalmist is one who prays day and night. Those who trust in the LORD are in constant prayer. Our LORD Jesus Christ has given us many teachings to encourage us to pray. He tells us the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18 so we don’t grow weary in prayer. He teaches us to pray in Matt. 6 with promises the LORD hears our prayers and answers them. In John 14, 15 and 16 Jesus teaches us to pray in His name and the Father will hear us. So we have good reason to pray to God and pray often. Because the blood of Christ covers us we can come before the throne of God with boldness and confidence He will hear us and grant our prayers.
3I’ve had enough troubles; my life has come close to the grave. 4I’m counted with those who go down to the pit and am like a man without strength. 5Like those that are slain, I join the dead who lie in the grave.
The psalmist then begins his complaint and lament to God. We should be encouraged by these words that we may join our voice to his when life is giving us lemons. We should not fear to bring our complaint to God and even our grumblings if we trust He will hear us and do something about whatever bad situation we have found ourselves or our loved ones have found themselves in. It is a blessed thing to complain and lament to God our Father when we trust in Him.
You don’t remember them anymore, cut off as they are from Your helping hand. 6You put me in a deep pit, in dark and deep places. 7Your anger lies heavily on me; with all Your waves You overwhelm me. (Music) 8You have taken my friends far away from me and made them loathe me. I am shut in and can’t get out.
The psalmist sees these evils that have befallen him as from the hand of God. A prayer from our altar book for those suffering says, “Comfort them, O God, with Your Holy Spirit that they may patiently endure their afflictions and acknowledge them as a manifestation of Your fatherly will.” Indeed we participate in the sufferings of Christ (2 Cor. 1) to the end to participate in His glory (2 Cor. 4). The Father disciplines us (Hebrews 13) and it seems like we are under His wrath and punishment. We may feel like the psalmist who is overwhelmed by it all and feels as if there is no hope.
We can remember Jesus and His innocent suffering and death. The hand of the Father was upon Him. The curse of our sins was upon Him. The Father removed His friends far from Christ and His anger was upon Jesus. He was cut off from God as He cries out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” In this remembrance we can remember the Father raised Jesus up on the first day and exalted Him to His right hand. We too will be raised from the dead on the Last Day and we are already seated in the heavenly places with Christ. (Eph. 2)
Heavenly Father, hear our prayers, our complaints and laments when You take us through evil times and grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may bear up underneath them until such time as You grant us relief as we await the return of Christ. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.