Pastor Fredo Ramos: Psalm 142. I cry out to the Lord. I plead for the Lord's mercy. I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles. When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way that I should turn.
Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me. I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought. No one will help me. No one cares a bit what happens to me. What a devastating place this psalmist finds himself in.
Verse five, then I pray to you, oh Lord, I say, are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life. Hear my cry for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors for they are too strong for me. Bring me out of prison so I can thank you.
The godly will crowd around me for you are good to me. Notice the turn there at the end of verse seven by way of reflection. The godly will crowd around me. You you you're you've been good to me. But then back in verse four, he says, no one gives me a passing thought.
No one is here to help me. Notice the reality that both of these things could be very true. As David, you might find yourself living in a cave, running from your enemies, and feeling as though all the good people have forgotten about you. And today you might find yourself feeling quite alone honestly. But notice the turn towards hope, the end where it says the godly will crowd around me for you are good to me.
There is again this important place we need to find ourselves when it comes to our prayer lives where we can be honest about how we pour out complaints, but that doesn't happen to the neglect of our confidence in God. So are you complaining? Okay. But has it dismissed your confidence in God? That's where we maybe can pay attention to.
And I love there in verse three, when I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. Perhaps we're overwhelmed with our responsibilities today, overwhelmed with the decisions of our children, overwhelmed with the decisions of our spouse or just where things are going or just feeling a bit out of control like it's another day of the week and you're not where you want to be. When you are overwhelmed, you look to God and you say, Lord, you alone know the way that I should turn. Jesus, we hear you now inviting us to feel the way that we are maybe overwhelmed, to recognize and name the ways that we maybe even feel alone. People have forgotten about us, but you haven't.
And so would our complaining towards you in prayer not dismiss our confidence in you that you hear our prayers today. And may we learn to follow your direction even in the place of being overwhelmed. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.