Psalm 142

A Bible Devotion from Psalm 142

God Is My Refuge

1 With my voice I cry out to the Lord;
with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.

3 When my spirit faints within me,
you know my way!
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see:
there is none who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for my soul.

5 I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, "You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living."
6 Attend to my cry,
for I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me!
7 Bring me out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.

Psalm 142, NKJV

Have you ever noticed that sometimes the most lonely place is in the middle of a crowd. This Psalm assures us that no matter how lonely, discouraged, afflicted, or depressed we may be God is always our refuge, and He alone cares for our soul. David, as we know from previous Psalms, was a man continually plagued by afflictions both before and after he became the king of Israel. He dealt with his afflictions by crying out to the Lord, taking comfort in the knowledge that God would care for him, and then praising God for His help.

God certainly understands our frailty; so many Psalms are dedicated to dealing with affliction and distress because He knows we need a constant reminder to turn to Him. God will not consider you a whiner if you turn to Him and cry out to Him for help. No matter what the circumstances, in the great things as well as the little things, He expects us to come to Him first! Like David, we should develop such a closeness to the Lord that we are aware of Him being right there with us all of the time, and have the constant opportunity to speak with Him.

Psalm 142 verses 3 and 4 is really just a statement of reality. When we are the most discouraged, suffering the most, or afflicted severely people do not notice; they really don't care! When David says, No man cares for my soul, he understands the true, selfish heart of man. It's really wonderful to have friends and family there for us when the going gets rough, but in reality, only God can change the circumstances of our lives.

Frequently David ended a Psalm by acknowledging God's help even while he was still being afflicted. He had no doubt that God was there for Him and that God would help Him.

God loves His children; everything that happens in their lives is planned by God to grow them as Christians and to allow them to advance God's kingdom here on earth.

Like David, we can live our lives in confidence knowing that God will always deal beautifully with us. Even in the depths of despair we know that God is right there beside us.

As David in Psalm 142, pray that you will live this day with peace and confidence because you know that God is right there beside you.

Next: Psalm 143 - The Good Old Days

More Devotions on the 142nd Psalm from my blog, Daily Bible Devotions.

No Man, verses 1-4

Bounty of God, verses 5-7