Psalm 86:5-7 - For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.
There is no doubt that this world is full of trouble. All you need to do is wake up and within minutes or hours, you will become aware of just how broken this world is. There isn’t a day that goes by that doesn’t bring some sort of hardship that we must face, whether that be small and seemingly insignificant or massive and life changing.
What do we hold on to when we are affected by these things? What do we do when we are burdened with our own sin or the sins of others? Who do we cling to when we feel desperate for help or even for love? What do we do in the day of trouble? Thankfully, we have the answer in these verses. We go to the Lord.
We learn some wonderful things about the Lord in these verses. We see that he is good, meaning that we can trust him, we can believe what he says, we can count on him, and we can know that if he is good himself that he will also do good. We also see that he is forgiving. No sin is too great for God to forgive, and while it may be hard to believe this, it is true. Jesus didn’t only die for the sins in your life that you see as “small”, but he died for even the most heinous sins that you would be reluctant to say out loud. He is a forgiving God, and that forgiveness should drive us to repentance.
He is also a loving God, but that’s not all that is written here. His love is abounding to us, meaning that it never stops and there is a lot of it! His love is also steadfast, which means that it will always be there, never fading away or changing. Have you ever known a love like this? No one can love us like God can, and to know that he does is one of our greatest hopes and joys in the Christian life.
It is because of who God is that we know that he hears us when we pray. We pray for him to extend his ear to us because we know that when he hears, he will love us in response to our prayers. We plea for grace because we know that without his grace we would have no hope for our sin. We call for help in trouble because we know that he is sovereign over whatever trouble we experience God is with us, holding us fast through it all.
Our God is so gracious, loving and generous! If only we would see him as he truly is, then imagine the hope and strength we would have each day. When you pray today, pray with confidence. When you meet trouble today, know that you don’t meet it alone, but you have the precious saviour and king Jesus with you. When you sin today, remember that God’s grace has been extended to you for that sin, so rest in his forgiveness, and run from your sin to the abundant love of God. Call on him, and see him do in your life what only he can do!
