Lord, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You. My heart pants, my strength fails me. (Psalm 38:9-10)
There comes a point in our lives when it serves no true purpose to suppress our thoughts and feelings from the Lord; He already knows our heart anyway. Yet, I do feel that it is typical of us not to express some of our more deep seated thoughts because, in some way, we think we can keep things under control. But in this psalm, David expressed that he wanted everything to be laid bare before the Lord — his desires, fears, and disappointments. It really didn’t matter whether or not he kept his feelings to himself because everything is revealed to God.
In short, David’s words describe a man who is broken and humbled. His heart is aching within him with the realization that he has failed God when, throughout his life, God has been so good to him. When we find ourselves in that state of brokenness, it shouldn’t matter what others think of us; all that matters is what the Lord thinks of us. Like David, we should lay ourselves bare before the Lord and hold nothing back. We should search our hearts for those things that are contrary to the will of God and, upon discovery, sigh with embarrassment and remorse. Though it can feel as if all our strength is leaving us, it is profitable if it purges us of those things that would stand between us and God.
It is our natural inclination to present ourselves to others as strong and in control. We are trained to think that showing weakness to others invites them to use and abuse us. Sad to say, that is probably very accurate — but that is how it is with people. Even so, as believers, we must serve others with humility. More importantly, we mustn’t allow our posturing before men to influence us to do the same with God. In other words, why would we try to present ourselves to Him as strong and in control when He already knows the truth of the matter? And so, it is in our best interests to come before the Lord in humility and brokenness, as it is written, “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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