I get knocked down, but i get up again!!

Scripture:  Psalm 143:4-6.  ⁴ “I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear.  ⁵ I remember the days of old.  I ponder your great works and think about what you have done.   ⁶ I lift my hands to you in prayer.  I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain”

 

Observation:  I love David’s progression in these verses.  From paralyzed fear to lifting his hands in prayer.  From a place of darkness & hopelessness to a recognition that there is one source of hope & light – the Lord Himself – and He becomes the one David seeks in the midst.  David is on a journey in this psalm – but the turning point seems to be where he turns his thoughts in verse 5 – to the great things he’s seen the Lord do in the past.  Perhaps out of a wishfulness & wistfulness to be there again.  Yet, as he ponders the good things of the past, he realizes that even where he is now is not too hard for his mighty God!  And now David starts to declare that God is who he will put his trust in – without any physical evidence before his eyes that anything in his circumstances has changed….in fact, he still admits his depression is deepening in the next verse!!  But is verse 5, his faith kicks in.  In verse 6, his faith becomes action as he physically lifts his hands in prayer.  And the whole tenor of the psalm changes from that point on!

 

Application:  I have the same choice before me when things are not going well.  When I feel overwhelmed, in darkness – even without hope.  I can wallow in it or I can direct my thoughts to the only One who can bring light & hope, who may not immediately change my circumstances, but who will hold me firm in the midst of them.  My thought-life is just so vital to my well-being!  The enemy may well knock me down – but I can get up again – because the One standing beside me to lift me up simply cannot be knocked down!!  So – even if all I can do is raise my hands in prayer, it is the first step up & out of any pit that has been dug for me!

 

Prayer:  Dear Heavenly Father, Thankyou that You are the light at the end of every tunnel in life.  That when I get knocked down, You are beside me to help me up, so I can get up again!!  May I always remember You and Your great works, so that, when I fell overwhelmed by life, when the enemy has knocked me down, I will be encouraged to allow faith to kick in and continue to put my trust, my hope, my life, into Your hands.  “May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing” (v 10b).  In Jesus’ name.  Amen

 

Sue Otto