Today’s passage: Psalm 88
Helpful thoughts:
- This psalm of lament does not have a happy ending in sight, though there certainly is one in store (2 Corinthians 5:6-8).
- Throughout the Old Testament, we see many in Israel turn to false gods for answers. This writer continues to pray to the one true God through the adversity and feelings of hopelessness. Though he was physically sick, he had been spiritually (Therefore eternally) healed.
- He writes from the perspective of the living (Physically). Verse 5, 10 and 11 speak of our actions and relationship with God and others while still physically alive.
Questions to consider:
- What is the psalmists view of God’s sovereignty? Is there anything in his life he has not attributed to God’s will?
- On what basis does the psalmist make his appeal? What does he hope to regain if he should be given good health? What does he hope to do in service to the Lord?
- In what ways can our afflictions give us a platform to do the very thing we would hope to do without them? This psalmist want to declare God’s glory and steadfast love…what did we just read him doing? How can God use our faithfulness in the midst of suffering for our good, for the good of others, and for His glory?