“Into Your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, LORD, my faithful God.” (Ps 31:6)
I’m having tea with a friend, sharing deep thoughts. Her eyes fill with tears: “I long for the Lord’s return. The pain is too heavy.” It echoes David’s lament in Psalm 31:11: “My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.”
Psalm 31 is a psalm of weakness and Strength; of a fugitive and Refuge; one who cries, “Save me” and the One who is Savior. David’s path is obstructed in every way, but there is One whose face shines so brightly it lights his way (v17, 2020 translation). This psalm is familiar to us because we recognize Jesus’ words on the cross: in His Father’s arms, His spirit is safe.
In Psalm 31, David provides us with the language to pray when our lives feel shattered. He reminds us that God is not—as we sometimes imagine—a distant observer of our lives. How would we ever come to know God as a real refuge and rock if we were not driven to Him through suffering? Reaching out to God in times of trial is not a sign of doubt but of faith! We don’t need to be strong. God is the stronger One.
The poet Amy Carmichael writes in one of her poems (In the Hollow of His Hand): “I am under the shelter of His wing,
He will keep me safe from the storm;
In the hollow of His hand I lie,
And I rest in the refuge of His arm.”
PRAYER: Your hand holds me; in Your arms, You carry me.
MUSIC:
We listen to the Dutch song “Naar U vlucht ik toe – Psalm 31” by Antoine and Huub Oosterhuis, performed by the Koor voor nieuwe Nederlandse religieuze muziek from their album Ons zing die monsters weg.
https://youtu.be/IDOoFug7SAs?si=lHVSjVhUTHTmRj6G