GIVE IT TO GOD

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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One of the things I love the most about the Psalms is their honesty. When the Psalmist is feeling down and upset about the circumstances of life, we hear the pain dripping off of the page. When the Psalmist gets through a tough situation or overcomes a foe, we hear them give all glory and honor to God. 

If you or I were to sit down and write a book of songs that would last forever, to be read by billions of people until the end of human existence, I doubt that you or I would be as brutally honest and real as many of the Psalms. 

Here is an example of a message that fell onto the page like teardrops cascading from heavy and sorrow-filled eyes. 

1 How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? 

How long will you hide your face from me? 

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? 

3 Look on me and answer, LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, 4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him, ” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 

5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing the LORD’S praise, for he has been good to me.

(Psalms 13:1-6 NIV)

Have you ever been there? 

•   Have you ever hit bottom in your spirit and cried out to the Lord?
•   Have you ever been this honest with God?

I love the fact that David, the king of Israel, the mighty man of God, was honest about the fact that it is hard to trust the Lord and sing his praises when your heart is filled with sorrow and your mind stuffed with questions. 

Weight

In verses 3-4, I can almost hear the weight pressing down on David’s chest. 

He needs the Lord. He is desperate for the Lord. 

If the Lord does not minister to David in his time of grief, depression, sorrow, and questioning, then David makes it clear to God that he would rather die. 

Oh man, that is honest! 

Lift Your Eyes

David closes his lament by lifting up his quivering chin just enough to remember the goodness and love of the Lord that has been his in the past. 

David reminds himself that the Lord has been good to him in the past. David does not see how, but he is sure that God will be good to him again soon. He must get up and get back to work.

Not the End

Yes, David expressed his sorrow to the Lord. Yes, David struggled and felt trapped by his circumstances. David could not see the Lord at work, but he was most definitely at work. 

Listen to how David opens Psalm 30 and hear how David gives God glory for the good he has done. 

1 I will exalt you, LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 

2 LORD my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. 

3 You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit. 

4 Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. 

5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

(Psalms 30:1-5 NIV11)

Where are you today? Be honest. 

•   Are you hurting and lost?
•   Are you crying out to the Lord, desperate for his help?
•   Or are you able to look back and see the hand of God at work?
•   Are you able to sing to the Lord, praising him for his grace and mercy?

Remember… weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning!

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Works at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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