God let him suffer. Why?

 

                  Psalm 6: God’s love and our pain: An oxymoron?

 

Did you ever end up in a major hospital emergency room? While you waited for the doctor, were you or someone in another cubicle groaning or yelling in unbearable pain? This was me after a car accident. I’d suffered a whiplash, and I had to lie still until they checked my neck and spine. The pain in my neck was all-consuming, and every minute dragged into ten.

 

Everyone knows the throb of pain.

 

“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.” Isaiah 40:3.

 

When pain is chronic, it wears us down. It may be physical, emotional, or spiritual, and we long for release. Hence, some people believe euthanasia is the answer. But what if our spirits survive death, and if so, where will we spend eternity?

 

David, the weeping prophet, left a legacy of poems in which he poured out his physical, mental, emotional anguish and guilt.

 

Psalm 6

He prayed for healing and release as he lay writhing on his bed, soaking the mattress and covers with his tears. How long must he suffer, and would he die? He begged for mercy while quivering under God’s wrath, knowing death is every sinner’s destiny, knowing his past filled him with overwhelming guilt.

If his illness and guilt incapacitated King David, imagine his shame and loss of control. Rival factions plagued his court, threatening his rule, and isolating him. He may have compared his weakness to his previous strength. He’d killed a lion and a bear, but now sickness had reduced him to a weak and despised man. 

 

Who is God to you?

 Many people either think God is stern or as indulgent as Santa Claus from whom you can win gift or favours. Is he your distant judge, whose standard of perfection you’ll never match? Although that’s true, he’s also a God of unfailing love, and David made his appeal on these grounds.

Don’t let me die! “No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave?”

 

Who praises God while devoid of a body?

 

When your body perishes, are you sure of your soul’s destiny?

 Aches and pain wracked David's body and mind. The flood of his tears had blurred his vision, and his enemies crushed his spirit. Dragged down with despair, he demanded they leave at once. But he was powerless, and he cried out to God.

 In his suffering, the Lord answered David’s desperate plea. God would vindicate David by suddenly shaming his opponents. The Lord’s unfailing love and goodness would rescue him.

 If we call on the Lord, he will show us how much he loves us.

 

     Agony and pain in war often cause human death. Men may commit heinous crimes and destroy lives. A traffic accident may maim or kill you. Humans inflict much suffering, although Satan has provoked them. Centuries before Jesus’ birth, Isaiah, the Old Testament prophet, described the Lord Jesus Christ as the man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. While God watched, the authorities derided and tortured his son, and he didn’t intervene. Where was God’s unfailing love when Jesus writhed in agony on Calvary’s cross? God remembered everyone else’s sin and sacrificed his son, despite the unimaginable cost to himself and to Jesus. John 3:16. Our salvation from sin was his ultimate purpose. Do you believe his sacrifice paid for your sins?

 

If you think pain and suffering are senseless, it’s because it consumes you and you can’t see hope beyond it. Without the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and Friend, you’ll miss its purpose. He identified with us when he suffered on the cross. When men mocked him, he knew the pain of humiliation and endured it in silence because he suffered for us, his God ordained purpose.

 

God eased David’s mental anguish by banishing his enemies. Our biggest enemy is the sin which separates us from God. He forgave David, and he wants to forgive us and banish our sin.

 

If we suffer from chronic or a serious illness, our greatest hope is Jesus. He’ll help us endure it and as we depend on him, he’ll support us with his unfailing love. Our trials refine us as we learn patience, trust, and gentleness. God will turn your mourning into quiet joy, a witness to his grace and mercy.

 

God spared David’s life, easing his physical suffering. He gave glory to God because of his amazing love and power. Let’s seize the hope Jesus extends us, for there is no other name under heaven which can save us in our sin and distress.

 

There’s an old hymn which encourages us to turn our eyes on Jesus and look at his wonderful face. With eyes of faith, we’ll recognize his scars were a gift of love to us, but we will also see his deep compassion and sympathy.

 

 I pray you discover and rest in his care for you today.