Let the Morning Bring Me Word of Your Unfailing Love
“O LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief. Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you. The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead. So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed. I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble. In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.” Psalm 143
A few weeks ago I began praying this psalm every day. Each day I would awake with these words and I would return to them before I went to sleep. This psalm begins in turmoil. The Psalmist’s enemies have beaten him down. He is crushed and tormented. His spirit is faint from the events in his life and his soul thirsts for God.
In the past weeks I’m sure each one of us have felt this way. We have lost two dearly loved members and we feel the weight of grief and struggle. We feel beaten down and faint. We call out to God for help. We call out for comfort. We call out for an answer. We call out saying, “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love.” Though the psalmist cries out, he also puts his trust in God.
We have been hit hard this past month, but we must continue on, putting our trust in the one who calls us and loves us. We must find the rest that only God can give. We must find the peace that passes understanding. We must take the time to grieve and sit with God.
Then we must get up and continue the work that all those who have gone before us have started. We must love as they loved. We must give as they gave. We must touch the lives of others as they have. We must say as the Psalmist, “Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”
And God will continue to guide us and lead us forward. He has been with us before the storm, in the storm, and he will lead us out of it. I encourage you as we continue forward in our own journeys to take some time to pray through this Psalm for yourself. Lay yourself out for God and then get up put your trust in him and follow his lead.