Please, God, no more yelling, no more trips to the woodshed.
Treat me nice for a change; I’m so starved for affection.
Can’t you see I’m black-and-blue, beat up badly in bones and soul?
God, how long will it take for you to let up?
Break in, God, and break up this fight;
if you love me at all, get me out of here.
I’m no good to you dead, am I?
I can’t sing in your choir if I’m buried in some tomb!
I’m tired of all this—so tired.
My bed has been floating forty days and nights
On the flood of my tears.
My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears.
The sockets of my eyes are black holes; nearly blind, I squint and grope.
Get out of here, you Devil’s crew: at last God has heard my sobs.
My requests have all been granted, my prayers are answered.
Cowards, my enemies disappear.
Disgraced, they turn tail and run. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Psalm 6 (The Message)
There may be some who are reading this today and you aren’t liking the translation. The Message is a paraphrase and my husband, who knows much more about translations than I do, tells me that The Message is a “little loose†on its accuracy. But I like to use it for a resource as many times the writer expresses the emotion of my heart when I connect with the passage. So if you want to read Psalm 6 from your own favorite Bible translation, then do so. Henry also says, “The best Bible translation is the one that you actually read!â€
The writer of this psalm could come right on into my world. There are days when I do feel as if God is allowing me to be beat up. I mean I am seeking His will and spending time with Him – and my life is one struggle after another. It does feel like I am “fightingâ€. I want God to break up this fight in my life and get me out of this season and into His season of joy and peace.
I have had days when I just wanted to give up. Being a disciple of Jesus was just too hard. I felt I was going to die trying! How can I praise God if I am dead in my spirit??!!
And let’s get to the little, yipping Chihuahua that comes after me – depression. Depression tries with just a little twist of the truth to convince me that problems are huge and too big to be overcome. The tears come and the Pity Party is ON!
One the reasons to talk this all out with God or journal it down with Him is that it brings the situation into focus. It makes it more clear and less emotional.
When I invite God into the Pity Party, I know that God is Creator and there is no problem too big for Him! I know that His love for me is unfailing. I know His promises are the truth. I know that He will bring me through today because He has brought me through all my yesterdays. And I know that He is my Hope in all the tomorrows.
God breaks up that destructive party and that little, yipping voice in my head is silenced in the presence of God. “If you will listen to My teaching then you shall know My truth, Jody, and it shall set you free!†(John 8:31-32)
