Needing Mercy - Psalm 142:1-2

I cry aloud to the Lord ; I plead aloud to the Lord for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; I reveal my trouble to him. Psalm 142:1-2 (CSB)

The Lord expects me to seek Him out. And He knows I’m not an avid seeker. He knows He needs to poke me sometimes to get me moving.

And these pokes come in the form of everything that happens in the tapestry of time and space. Everything that happens is directly a part of His plan. 

Sometimes things feel so incredibly bad.

In this Psalm, David is hiding in a cave. Now, let’s remember the history. Samuel the prophet anointed David while Saul was still king. And God began to bless David. It seemed like everything David put his hand to turned out right. He killed the giant. He was victorious in battle . (See 1 Samuel)

Then, things went incredibly bad. And Saul, the still reigning king, started to hunt David down to kill him. 

David hid out in caves with his mighty men. And he got depressed.

The prophet had told him he would reign, and here he is running for his life. 

He cried out to the Lord. He cried for mercy. He told God all about his trouble. 

God had never left David for a second. Yet David felt oh so alone. David did exactly what he was supposed to do; he told God about it. 

That’s what I am supposed to do. I should cry out to Him. I should pray out loud for mercy. I should tell Him the details about how it all feels. And He will listen. 

God teaches me that this is correct behavior through this Psalm. I am reminded that God’s people of old memorized this Psalm in the form of a chant or a song. They knew it from the inside out. 

God wanted them to never forget this. He wants me to always remember. I must cry out too. Today.

Lord, help me. I am worried sick. I feel incompetent and out of control. My own thoughts accuse me. I come to you. You are my Father. You have called me out of the darkness into your glorious light. I am not God. I gratefully serve you. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.