Today's Video Devotion

Friday 12/15/23

Living in a Stressful World

📺️ Psalm 102 🔊

¹Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.

 ²Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.

 ³For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.

 ⁴My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.

 ⁵By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.

 ⁶I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.

 ⁷I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.

 ⁸Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.

 ⁹For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping.

 ¹⁰Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.

 ¹¹My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.

 ¹²But thou, O LORD, shall endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.

 ¹³Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.

 ¹⁴For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.

 ¹⁵So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.

 ¹⁶When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.

 ¹⁷He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.

 ¹⁸This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.

 ¹⁹For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;

 ²⁰To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;

 ²¹To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;

 ²²When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.

 ²³He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.

 ²⁴I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations.

 ²⁵Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.

 ²⁶They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:

 ²⁷But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.

 ²⁸The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: David, Asaph, Solomon, Heman, Ethan, Moses, and the Sons of Korah

Date Penned: (1440-586 BC)

Overview: Poetry for the Expression of Praise and Worship to God (c 1-150)

Theme: The Fourth Book of Psalms (c 90-106)

Message: The Cure for Distress (v 1-28)

Psalms 102 Commentary 

(102:1-4) The Lord is Our Strength - The writer felt so bad that he lost his appetite and failed to eat. When we face sickness and despair, our days pass blindly, and we don't care about even our basic needs. In these times, God alone is our comfort and strength. Even when we are too weak to fight, we can lean on him. It is often when we recognize our weaknesses that God's greatest strength becomes available. 

(102:5) Visiting the Sick - When sick or suffering, people can feel completely miserable, and pain fills their days. Be sure to visit those you know who are sick or recovering. Bring a gift, some food, a word of encouragement. Pray with them for their healing. Don't file away and forget the message when you hear someone needs help 

(102:6-7) Loneliness and Desolation. These birds are pictures of loneliness and desolation. At times we may need to be alone and in our solitude find comfort. But we must be careful not to spurn those who reach out to us. Don't reject help and conversation. Suffering silently is neither Christian nor particularly healthy. Instead, graciously accept support and help from family and friends. 

(102:16-22) Zion Will Be Restored - Christ's future reign on earth will encompass two events mentioned in these verses. Jerusalem (Zion) will be restored, and the entire world will worship God (Revelation 11:15; 21:1-27). 

(102:25-27) Problems and Heartaches - The writer of this psalm felt rejected and tossed aside because of his great troubles (102:9-10). Problems and heartaches can overwhelm us and cause us to feel as though God has rejected us. But God, our creator, is eternally with us and will keep all his promises, even though we may feel alone. The world will perish, but God will remain. Hebrews 1:10-12 quotes these verses to show that Jesus Christ, because he is God, was also present and active at the creation of the world.

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today, we continue in the Book of Psalms with Chapter 102. In our text today, we see a theme of our cure for distress is our trust in the living, eternal, unchanging God. In applying, we know we can trust our unchanging God in a changing, uncertain world. We have His Word on what He has done in the past, so we can place our faith in Him doing the same in the future. How about you? Do you get stressed with this constantly changing world that embraces sin? Let us learn from our Psalm and text today to remember that we can trust our unchanging God to deliver us from the stress of living in a changing world.