In the midst of the storm

In the Midst of the Storm: Pain, Patience and Promise

Psalm 102

Introduction: [This is not a complete “study” but rather an outline that was used to guide a discussion of this psalm last Wednesday evening. Your insights, answers and thoughts on the questions, reactions to the big idea, are all invited in the comments section below]. We’ve been working our way through the psalms the last couple of years for our Wednesday night prayer meeting. Last Wednesday night we started our prayer meeting with a devotional on Psalm 102 entitled, “Snow, the Super Bowl, and the Souper Bowl…” OK, the “Super Bowl” is past, that was fun (and the ending was pretty exciting!). And the “Souper Bowl of Sharing,” is over, our offerings and gifts going to the regional Food Pantry. That certainly reminds us that many people struggle to meet their needs day to day. The snow?  Well, enough said about that! But if you are in a warm home, safe from the elements, maybe you are counting your blessings today. There are many people facing challenges, persecutions, and life threatening situations in many parts of the world. Today weather may keep us from church, but we don't live in fear of ISIS soldiers breaking through our doors. In some areas of the world believers are putting their lives at risk by identifying themselves as Christ followers.  At some level the tribulation that comes with living in a fallen world touches us all at some point. There is hope in this psalm.

The Big Idea: The suffering of this age can be overwhelming if we lose sight of the promises of God. Keep looking up!

I. The suffering of this present age (1-11). Jesus said that we would have tribulation in the world (see also John 16:33).  God created a world that was good, but human rebellion brought the curse of God on creation. We live in a fallen world, disoriented by sin and the consequences of sin.

Psalm 102:1-11  A PRAYER OF ONE AFFLICTED, WHEN HE IS FAINT AND POURS OUT HIS COMPLAINT BEFORE THE LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you!  ² Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!  ³ For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.  ⁴ My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread.  ⁵ Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh.  ⁶ I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places;  ⁷ I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.  ⁸ All the day my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse.  ⁹ For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink,  ¹⁰ because of your indignation and anger; for you have taken me up and thrown me down.  ¹¹ My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.

Read slowly through these verses one at a time and sense the desperation, even despair that seems to overwhelm the psalmist. Have there been points in your life when you felt some of this?  Was God there in the midst or you pain? How did you get through?

II. Kingdom living in a fallen world (12-22).  If this is where we are living, what hope is there? Because we know the King, what’s more, because we are HIS children, we can live victoriously in the midst of chaos.

Psalm 102:12-23  ¹² But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.  ¹³ You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come.  ¹⁴ For your servants hold her stones dear and have pity on her dust.  ¹⁵ Nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.  ¹⁶ For the LORD builds up Zion; he appears in his glory;  ¹⁷ he regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.  ¹⁸ Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD:  ¹⁹ that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,  ²⁰ to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die,  ²¹ that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD, and in Jerusalem his praise,  ²² when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.  ²³ He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days.

Consider the stark contrast in v. 12, “But you O LORD…” What characteristics of God are emphasized in the following verses? What does it mean to us to consider that God is “enthroned”?  What actions, past, present, or future, give hope to the psalmist? Which of these verses speak “hope” most clearly to you today?

III. Hope for the Age to Come (23-28). There is no promise that all hardship goes away when we decide to follow Jesus. In fact, in some ways things might get worse! But as it is written in another psalm, “Weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Ps 30:5b).

Psalm 102:23-28   ²³ He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days.  ²⁴ "O my God," I say, "take me not away in the midst of my days- you whose years endure throughout all generations!"  ²⁵ Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.  ²⁶ They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,  ²⁷ but you are the same, and your years have no end.  ²⁸ The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.

How do you feel about the idea that God is sovereign, even in the midst of our suffering? One writer said, “Nothing touches us that hasn’t first passed through the hands of our loving, heavenly Father. Nothing.” Do you believe that? Have there been hard times in your life that God used for your good, or for the good of others?

How does the psalmist bring together the plan of God in creation and the promise of His presence in these verses?  

To guide us into prayer: He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. We trusted Him in the past, we can trust Him now, whatever the circumstances, and tomorrow, whatever may come.  Think about how so much of what we pray about relates to the struggles of living in a fallen world. Is that true of your prayer list? Does His presence in the darkness give you hope? Does the promise of Heaven make you stronger? Your insights and testimonies could encourage someone today, please post your thoughts!