Hope Bringer – Psalm 116

A text – Psalm 116:1-9

¹ I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and my supplications.
² Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
³ The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
    I suffered distress and anguish.
⁴ Then I called on the name of the Lord, “O Lord, I pray, save my life!”

⁵ Gracious is the Lord and righteous; our God is merciful.
⁶ The Lord protects the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.
⁷ Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

⁸ For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling.
⁹ I walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

A reflection:

If you have ever called upon the Lord in a time of deep trouble and despair, and then you have emerged from the bad time and lived to see another morning, you may have given thanks the way this psalmist does. The Lord answers prayer, the Lord protects the simple, the Lord deals bountifully with our souls. The result: we walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

This deep a despair perhaps doesn’t happen to you on a regular basis. But deep despair plagues many people who suffer physical chronic illness or mental health challenges. Our medical cures are good today, but they are sometimes temporary. When you hear these words of the psalmist, think of a friend who suffers from depression, or think of yourself bearing a long-term condition or the burden of caring for someone else who does. It is tempting for the sufferer to sink into loneliness and believe there is no hope.

The next time that happens, read Psalm 116. The Lord protects. The Lord deals bountifully. The Lord delivers us. Believe it. Hope in it. Bring that hope to another person. You have it and you can share it.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for being our protector and deliverer in the worst of times. Thank you for seeing us through to another day in the land of the living. Help us not to lose hope. And if we have hope, to share it with someone who needs it. Amen.