From our groans of lament, God leads us to renewal and restoration

By Dean Collins

Laments may start with words but they almost always include groaning—internally and externally—as pain and injustice drives a person to grief. The reality of sin and wickedness creates anguish in our hearts that spills out into moaning from our lips. David had learned that the best place to take your lament is to the Lord. And do it first thing in the morning before you take any action.

Going to God

In Psalm 5 we see nothing random about the king’s lament. David cries out to God his King. The psalmist understands that the highest and best place to take our pain and our guilt is directly to the Lord. We know from Romans 12:1 that the sacrifice we must lay before the Lord is ourselves. We offer ourselves to God each morning that in his presence we would find forgiveness, mercy, wisdom, and life. And then we watch for God to work.

David declared this:

God does not delight in wickedness.
Evil does not dwell with God.
The boastful do not stand with God.
God hates evildoers and destroys those who speak lies.
The Lord abhors bloodthirsty and deceitful men.

We needn’t look far in this week’s chaos to see examples of what David spoke about. Evil is not a modern problem, but now it is televised.

After affirming the truth he understood about God, David quickly returns to a proper action. David bows down before the Lord in awe because he knows God’s love is steadfast. Evil and evil men are not loving, but the God of Heaven is completely righteous. So David proceeds in prayer to the source of all good and and asks that God lead him to live righteously. We cannot succeed in works of justice and righteousness without the Lord leading us. Only God can sustain us.

David rightly described those that work for destruction and he asked God to let them fall by their own counsel. Those who do evil and are rebellious before the Lord will be judged accordingly.

Seeking refuge, renewal, and restoration

Notice that David does not remain in his focus on the evildoers. Instead, he immediately returns to God and takes refuge in him. The king can rejoice because God is on the throne. God is the great shield for those who seek him. David knew what we must learn: There is no greater place for us to seek help for all of the injustice of the world than in the King of kings.

And now, under the shield of the Almighty and filled with his presence, we can as people of God walk humbly, do justice, and love mercy. We cannot and must not take on evil powers except armed with the shield of faith. Paul is clear that we do not fight against flesh and blood but rather against powers of darkness.

It is time for the house of God to act under the authority of our King. Let no red or blue idol blind or deceive you. Our loyalty, our strength, and our hope is in King Jesus. And when we decide to follow him he will do his great work of renewal and restoration.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭5:1-12; Matthew‬ ‭12:33-37‬; Romans‬ ‭12:1-2‬; ‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:10-20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash