Psalm 102:2 –
Don’t turn away from me in my time of distress. Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly when I call to you.
Overwhelmed with troubles? In these times who isn’t! This Psalm is one to read if you want a good prayer. Granted as you read and pray this Psalm you quickly realize of insignificant your problems are in the grand scheme of things. By verse 12 the prayer turns from self-pity to realizing the grandeur of the Lord! While the Psalm asks God for help, it also puts our troubles in perspective.
I know when I pray sometimes I start feeling like this verse. I want to make sure God is listening and He will respond quickly. Funny how we tend to allow ourselves to get to that point before we finally say HELP! Ironically I prayed almost this exact prayer this morning. A mountain of bills, two active lawsuits, closing a 12 year business and a desk that is a mess has “locked” me up mentally. I just stare at the jobs and can’t start any of them! I was up at 4am this morning stressing about this stuff!
I beg for help, but know what’s right. I need to wallow in this mess to make sure I learn two things. First is just not locking up mentally. Clichés come freely for this one … like “when the going gets tough …”! The other is making sure I don’t repeat the mistakes of the past and stray from Biblical money management principles. I get caught up in “me” and forget the multitudes who have lost it all and need my prayers more!
That’s where the final half of this Psalm sinks into your mindset. It forces you to realize the God we serve and the key is serving! We need to remove the focus off our problems and turn them to God. Then do what we can to help others and their issues. Shine God’s light in everything you do and you WILL be blessed. Breathe deep and tackle your problems one at a time. God will help guide you if you listen. God never promised us a problem free life, He did promise us an abundant life!!