Thursday Psalms: God's Steadfast Love

For you, these may be days of sadness, they may be filled with laughter.  Today may find you in sickness or in good health.  No matter what, dark & difficult days lie ahead for you; they await all of us.  We've seen them in the past, and as long as we live on this side of heaven, they will eventually return.  Sometimes our days of struggle & suffering seem to go on endlessly.  The four verses from today's psalm brought times like this to mind.  The following verses offer you remedy and hope.

Psalm 143:1-8a

¹ Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy!

        In Your faithfulness answer me, in Your righteousness!

² Enter not into judgment with Your servant,

        for no one living is righteous before You.

³ For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground;

        he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

⁴ Therefore my spirit faints within me;

        my heart within me is appalled.

⁵ I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that You have done;

        I ponder the work of Your hands.

⁶ I stretch out my hands to You;

        my soul thirsts for You like a parched land.

⁷ Answer me quickly, O Lord!  My spirit fails!

        Hide not Your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit.

^8a Let me hear in the morning of Your steadfast love, for in You I trust.

      

When you are down and out, when the end to your sadness seems to be NEVER, God gives you this advice.  Remember the days of old, think of all that God has done for you.  Focus on God's works in your life, most importantly how God richly & daily forgives you all your sins!  Continue to stretch out your hands to God in prayer, trusting in His steadfast mercy.  He will heal you, the only question is when.  God's love, forgiveness and care for you will be like cool water in the parched land of your suffering!  

You can always trust in God; His steadfast love for you never fails, it never ends!

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS    Burton, Michigan

office:  810.744.1188 

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:  

     Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other & the World.

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Soli Deo Gloria

"The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble."  Psalm 9:9