¿What to do in times of distress? Psalm 143

elpastor (73)memberin HeartChurch • 3 years ago

Many times we look for solutions to our problems in the wrong direction. Considering the best option to get out of the emotional crisis that we may be living, should lead us to consider God's advice specifically about the moment of distress that we may be facing. King David like every human being lived through many situations of distress and left us his good advice and experiences, which are important to consider the best option to get out of an emotional crisis.

Psalm 143 gives us an important advice to find a better way out of the situations of distress that we may face in life.

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Anguish leads us down the path of emotional imbalance and causes us to enter into situations of despair. David experienced it precisely at the moment when his son Absalom tried to take away his power and kingship over the people of Israel. All this was a family problem, however Absalom in his intention to stay on the throne of Ishtarel pursued his father with the best intention to kill him and take all the power in Israel.

David set out to flee Jerusalem with part of his family and some of his servants and retainers. King David was very distressed because his own son was pursuing him to death. In the midst of this anguish, David appealed to God's help and the first thing he did was to resort to the spiritual weapon that destroys the armies of darkness, which is "Prayer".

In the midst of anguish, David sought God's face in prayer and said:

O Lord, hear my prayer, hear my supplications;
Answer me with your truth, with your righteousness. Psalms 143: 1 Reina-Valera 1960 (RVR1960)

What to do in a time of distress? Simply seek God's face and humble yourself in His presence so that God will hear and answer you. Don't look for the solution to your problems in the wrong place, the best solution is to seek God's face. Your problem may be like David's, family, or surely, it may be health, financial, labor; no matter what the nature of your problem is, what God teaches, is that when you find yourself in a situation of distress, seek God in prayer.

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As soon as you begin to pray, talk to God about your particular problem. Don't go out of your way to tell the Lord about the problem. God, though He knows what you are experiencing, only wants you to confess it to Him and describe it. As soon as David sought God's face in prayer, he said to Him:

For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has overthrown my life;
He has made me dwell in darkness like those who are already dead.
4 And my spirit is distressed within me;
My heart is desolate. Psalm 143: 3-4

David expressed his problem to the Lord. He manifested what was causing him anguish in his spirit and in his heart. He did not hesitate at all to speak frankly to God. If we follow David's advice in this situation, we will surely save ourselves strength and words when we talk to God about the things that cause us distress.

Speaking clearly in God's presence will allow us to unburden ourselves emotionally before the Lord and this will allow God's answer to come sooner than expected.

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David was very productive in the presence of God. He was very outspoken with the Lord and used the opportunity of prayer to bring to the Lord's remembrance the glorious and mighty deeds He had done with His people Israel in the past.
David enjoyed in his distress reminding God of the way He delivered Israel on the many occasions of distress in the past. Surely, David was reminding the Lord of how He had delivered Israel from the distress of slavery in Egypt. Perhaps, David reminded the Lord how he delivered Israel from the hand of Pharaoh when he was at the head of the Red Sea.

The important thing of all, is that in prayer we can bring to the Lord's remembrance the great wonders that he did for us in the past and that he can also do in the present and in the future.

I remembered the days of old;
I meditated on all your works;
I reflected on the works of your hands.
6 I stretched out my hands to you
my soul toward you like the thirsty land. Psalm 143: 5-6

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In the midst of what David was going through, he appealed to God in prayer and told Him to let him hear His mercies because he had put his trust in God and asked Him to deliver him from his enemies who were persecuting him.
God is eternally merciful and because of God's loving character we can approach Him and hope that He will have mercy on us and deliver us from the distressing situation we are going through.

Let me hear of your mercy in the morning,
For in you I have put my trust;
Let me know the way wherein I walk,
For to thee have I lifted up my soul.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Jehovah;
In you I take refuge. Psalm 143: 8-9