Run TO Jesus

As we come to an end of this first week of “Psalms for the Summer,” my prayer is that we will not read ABOUT God but ENCOUNTER Him as the Holy Spirit speaks to us through these songs and poems.

Psalms 6 is known as the first of the seven Penitential Psalms – songs of confession and humility before God. The author, David, was known as a weeping prophet and this is the first of his laments. Lament means to passionately express grief or sorrow. Let’s read Psalm 6:

(1-3) -O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage. Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. I am sick at heart. How long, O Lord, until you restore me?

(4-5) Return, O Lord, and rescue me. Save me because of your unfailing love. For the dead do not remember you. Who can praise you from the grave?

(6-7) I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears. My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.

(8-10) Go away, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer. May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified. May they suddenly turn back in shame.

In this Psalm there are three things David comes to God about: the pain of a broken body; a broken heart from sin; and the insults of his enemies. But that is not what I want to focus on. In the midst of his pain, where did he go? David ran TO God!! The maker of Heaven and Earth.

We have so many Biblical examples of people who ran to God, rather than away, in their pain. Think about Hannah, who was at the temple crying out her lament because she couldn’t conceive, and in her pain, God heard her plea. Job’s friends tried to convince him to run from God, but in the midst of his pain, he kept running to Him, expressing his laments. I could go on and on.

I don’t know what you’re going through today. Are you grieving because of sin? You keep running from God to the bottle, the pills, the porn. Are you in physical pain? I feel like each week I hear of someone else with cancer. Have you experienced the loss of a loved one, a relationship, someone you deeply love?

These last few years have been extremely difficult on all of us, as well as our families. Statistically, mental health challenges in children and teens are at an all time high! The Church at RB is not immune. Just this week, I met with a young mom who is feeling the impact first hand with her middle school daughter. She’s not alone!

Friends, Jesus knows your pain. Run TO Him, not the other way! It’s only when we acknowledge our pain, sit at the feet of Jesus, and seek the support of one another that we can begin the long road to healing.

Run TO Jesus

That is when we experience God’s grace, comfort, and peace!