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by Gary Sims
03/31/04
Not For Sale
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The Songs
Psalm 31:9-16 – Sweating Bullets
Key Verses: (NLT)

9: “Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am in distress.” – David begins to describe in these verses the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness we experience when we are hated or rejected. But he begins with a prayer for help: “Be gracious to me…”
9b: “My sight is blurred because of my tears. My body and soul are withering away.” – In times of distress we experience physical and emotional stress such as crying, illness, and fatigue.
10: “I am dying from grief; my years are shortened by sadness…” – Stress results in anguish and deep pain. Rejection causes weakness and death.
11: “I am scorned by all my enemies and despised by my neighbors – even my friends are afraid to come near me.” – Our reputation can be damaged.
13: “I have heard the many rumors about me, and I am surrounded by terror. My enemies conspire against me.” – It can seem that everyone is against us.
14-15: “But I am trusting you, O LORD, saying, ‘You are my God!’ My future is in your hands.” – Deliverance from isolation begins with our trust in the Lord.

Points to Contemplate:

Who are your enemies and adversaries? When you are under a great deal of stress does it feel like the entire world is building a case against you? Are there times in your life when even your closest friends seem to be “whispering” against you? Have you ever sought help from others only to be told something else about yourself you didn’t want to hear? Have you experienced times where isolation begins to feel like a thick dark cloud pressing in on you and you cannot find anywhere to turn? Does David’s prayer in verse 9, “Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am in distress,” provide you with a tool to use in such times?
Have you experienced stress? Do you cry? Do you find it difficult to breathe? Do you become ill? Do you experience skin rashes and zits? Does your hair fall out? Do you get bad breath? Do you experience high blood pressure? Do you ache all over? Do these signs help you in some way to recognize that you need God’s help? Are they an indication that your situation has become unmanageable and that you, yourself, are no longer capable of solving the problem on your own?
Do you trust God to deliver you from your worries and anxieties? Consider the events of Holy week that Jesus experienced. Can you see that, He too, probably felt many of these similar symptoms of stress? Do you gain new insight to the emotions of what Jesus felt when you compare them to your times of deepest stress? Can you then read the stories of Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem and find examples of stress management that He modeled for us? In the Garden of Gethsemane didn’t Jesus pray the same prayer as the psalmist prayed in verse 14? Can you put your full trust in the Lord in order to be delivered from your enemies? Can you put your stressful times in His hands?

Promise of the Gospel:

We all experience times of severe stress in our lives. David vividly outlines the symptoms of stress, showing us that we are not alone in these types of experiences. With that knowledge and with the recognition that relief can only come from our trust in God, David provides us with two prayers that can be used to turn our situation over into God’s hands: “Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am in distress,” and “I am trusting you, O LORD, saying, ‘You are my God!’ My future is in your hands.” In our faith and hope resides with God.

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