Where do I turn?

Psalm 130 is an enormous help to me when life is a mess. Or on our North Shore community church Facebook page. The Psalm begins “Out of the depths I cry...”

I love how real the Bible is. It’s not just moralistic mythological platitudes. It anticipates our struggles.

Whether it’s some societal catastrophe like a pandemic, or painful personal circumstances, or my own self discovery of my damning moral failures... I find myself “in the depths.“

Where do I turn? “Out of the depths I cry to you Oh Lord.“ I’m directed not to self medicate with alcohol or “retail therapy“ or comfort food (my retreat of choice). Rather, I learn again to cry, groan, express my anguish, where? To the Lord. Have you learned to do that? Maybe we can learn more together.

The end of the Psalm says, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in his word I put my hope...” and “Oh Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him his full redemption.“

The direction is specific. “In his word I put my hope.“ And “put your hope in the Lord.“ They go together.

My favorite quote from Edmund Clowney says “You can’t know the Lord of the word without the word of the Lord. And you can’t know the word of the Lord without the Lord of the word.” Take a moment and let that sink in. Maybe even read it again. This underscores what the Psalmist said: Put your hope in the Lord’s trustworthy word. His word and his promises are trustworthy because he is the trustworthy author. He’s trustworthy because, as the Psalmist describes him, “with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.”

“Unfailing love.” That is so much better than my “failing love.“

“Full redemption.“ He has paid the price on the cross to “buy me back.“

So when we are “in the depths,” where will we turn? To the Lord Jesus.

So when we are “in the depths,” what is our hope? The Lord Jesus.

The Old Testament points forward to the New. Hebrews 4:16 put it like this: “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (read: ‘in the depths’).”

Would you bring your groan, your anguished cry, your honest need to him today,

Musings from Pastor John, April 26