The Good, The Sad, And the Ugly
Have you ever had an ugly cry? Like the snot streaming, red cheeks, puff eyes, hyperventilating kind of cry? A few days ago, I met someone who knew my wife as a young child. She told me that about once a month, Kelsey would come to daycare and need to sit for a while and cry before she was ready to start her day. I think we all have moments like this in life from time to time. It’s encouraging to know that we can come to God with life’s “ugly cry” moments.
Psalm 142 was a moment like this for David. He writes this while he’s running for his life from King Saul, most likely in 1 Samuel 22:1 or 1 Samuel 24:3. He’s frustrated, alone, and disappointed. David lets God know how he’s feeling in this moment, and we can too. When we find ourselves in ugly cry moments, we can cry out to God. God loves us, hears us, and is with us in the midst of our hurting.
The powerful and encouraging truth is God desires our authentic prayers. So, how do we present our authentic selves in prayer with God?
I love that David doesn’t hold anything back here. Verse one and two are him clearly expressing his disappointment and sorrow for the moment he’s facing. This is okay! God wants to hear us pray honestly. God made you, loves you, and cares for you! Nothing you are feeling is too big for God to handle!
In Numbers 11, Moses prayed honestly to God. The people of Israel were complaining constantly. Moses would go to God, and He would help, but they just would find a new reason to be upset. Finally, Moses was fed up! “So Moses asked the Lord, “Why have you brought such trouble on your servant? Why are you angry with me, and why do you burden me with all these people?” (Numbers 11:11) God heard Moses’ frustration and gave him an answer, but notice how his situation and feelings weren’t too big for God.
We can present our authentic selves to God in prayer when we remember that God can handle the truth. He is strong enough to hear our disappointment, sorrow, and sadness. We can express our feelings wholly to him, and he is near.
David continues his Psalm, “I cry to you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my shelter, my portion in the land of the living.’” In verse 5 of chapter 142, “Listen to my cry,” he continues in verse 6, “for I am very weak. Rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.” In the good, the sad, and the ugly, David recognizes that God is with us.
God has promised he will not leave us or forsake us and that he is near to those who are heartbroken. You can be real with God because God is really real. READ THAT AGAIN! God really cares for you. God really hears you. God is with you even when life sucks.
I love the story we just read in our Bible in a year plan from 2 Kings 6 about Elisha. The prophet has made the King of Aram mad, and so the king sent, “horses, chariots, and a massive army there. They went by night and surrounded the city” (2 Kings 6:4) where Elisha lived.
In the morning, Elisha’s servant woke up and, to his surprise and terror, they were surrounded by this army. He rushed back in to let the man of God know, but look at Elisha’s response.
16 Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, please open his eyes and let him see.” So the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. - 2 Kings 6:16-17
We can come to God when life gets ugly because God gets in the ugly with us! When we’re broken and life lets us down, we can lift our eyes to see that God is still with us!
