Beyond the Weekend

August 21 | Disappointment with People

August 21, 2018

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race. Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts. Psalm 12:1-2

Read: Psalm 12

Listen: Psalm 12

TODAY’S MESSAGE

Some days, David was able to reflect on God’s goodness as creator and provider. But some days he could not. His days often were filled with disappointment. Disappointment with others, with God, and with himself. This disappointment led him to pen some of the most brutally honest psalms in our Bible, psalms that overflow with anger, cynicism and disgust. David didn’t just wear his emotions “on his sleeve.” He wrote them down.

We can almost see David as he writes Psalm 12, the pen pushing hard into paper as if by sheer force he can release his frustration. He is gripped by others’ complete lack of integrity—people consuming each other as if they were a commodity. Notice the all-encompassing nature of his words, “No one is faithful…everyone lies…” It’s as if he’s trying to think of someone who’s trustworthy and honest but comes up empty.

But David doesn’t live in his frustration. As is characteristic with this type of psalm, he ultimately turns his gaze to the God who is trustworthy and true—the God of hope (Psalm 12:7). We can do the same thing. It’s easy to be disappointed by all the negative that’s around us—from social media posts to ongoing political discourse. But even during this discord, we ultimately place our trust in the God who’s true.

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

Set aside 20 minutes to watch this video of Bono (lead singer of U2) and Eugene Peterson (translator of The Message) discussing the honesty and emotion in the Psalms. Years in the making, this amazing video is a candid conversation of how the Psalms speak to our deepest needs and desires in language that reaches across the millennia. If you’re in the middle of disappointment with others, use this video as motivation to have a candid conversation with God. Use the language of the psalms to guide you. Make sure, like David, that you return to God as the source of your hope.


Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.

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