Psalms DAY 7

DAY 7 - Handling Hurt

Psalm 10:7-11

Psalm 10 wrestles with the question that holds a lot of people back from faith: if God exists, why do we suffer? It’s the so-called problem of evil. You’ve probably felt the weight of that question. 

If you think God’s not there or not paying attention or doesn’t care, it’s easy to lose faith. You might know somebody like that. Or you might think these predator-people have it right: it’s a dog-eat-dog world, so get what you can while you can! Maybe you might slip into apathy and fatalism. All the meanness and unfairness makes you callous, unfeeling. You become sure that everything that happens was bound to happen and there’s nothing you can do about it anyway. 

“Why, God?” isn’t just a question to debate, it’s a wound to treat. How do you handle your hurt?
Do you bury it? Buried pain is like toxic waste: it always finds a way out. Do you dump it? Lots of people do! They dump on their roommate, their spouse, their kids, or all over social media. 

Or do you pray your pain? Lament exposes our pain in a healthy way. Our songwriter hurts, and he’s frustrated with God, but he doesn’t dump it on Jerusalem Facebook or quit God. He takes his frustration WITH God TO God! Yeah, he’s complaining and questioning but he’s praying! 

About 40% of the Psalms are lament. That means many Israelite poets prayed their pain and shared their prayers with others who said, “That’s how I feel, too!” All these psalms of lament sound like permission and encouragement to bring our questions, hurts, and doubts to God. That sounds kind of liberating, doesn’t it? God graciously gives us a healthy way to handle our hurt.

REFLECT
How do you typically handle your hurt?

PRAY
Lord, I wonder why bad guys win and good guys lose. I wonder why people suffer. I wonder why you don’t fix what’s wrong. Help me to bring my doubts, my questions, my sadness, and my frustration to you in prayer. Amen.