THANKSGIVING - CHRISTMAS - JANUARY 1

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These are three special days that bring joy and celebration to so many people. At the same time, when you’ve lost someone you love, these three days are among the holidays and other events in life that can hit you heavy and hard!

Scripture always holds healing for wounds that seem un-treatable.

Psalm 108:1-6

My heart is steadfast, God;
I will sing, I will sing praises also with my soul.
Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!
I will give thanks to You, Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
For Your mercy is great above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the skies.
Be exalted above the heavens, God,
And may Your glory be above all the earth.
So that Your beloved may be rescued,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!

Out of the starting gate, in verse 1, David states that his heart is “steadfast.” How could that be, when David is mired in his own deep concern? It’s because David knows to go to his God, the only sure source of relief there is. He goes, perhaps in despair, but, more importantly, in hope and expectancy that God can address his anguished heart. David knows that God is the only One Who is able to help him through yet another overwhelming life circumstance.

Take note of the way David approaches God with his troubled spirit:

  • Verse 1, 3 – He sings praises to God. Does that seem like a stretch, when your heart is hurting?

  • Verse 3 – He gives thanks to God. Not FOR the circumstance but IN it. There is ALWAYS something for which to thank God.

  • Verse 4 – In a world full of deceit, despair and disappointment, David reminds himself that there is Truth and it’s embodied in God.

  • Verse 5 – David takes his mind off his own hurt when he exalts God and gives Him glory.

  • And in verse 6 – David dares to believe that God can rescue him…perhaps, not from the circumstance, since some cannot be changed; but, from the despair the circumstance creates.

I invite you to do the things David did in this Psalm. Do them, even if you don’t feel like it or see no possibility for these activities making a difference in your heavy heart. Seeking God in your heartache is the only certain way your heart can be lifted, if not to celebrating a holiday, at least to daunting the pain the holiday might threaten.