Tag: King David

The Storm Rages On

I knew the look in her face. I had seen it many times in the eyes of the caretakers of my hospice patients. Exhaustion.

When Mom gets sick, you take off time from work to take her to the doctor. There are the tests, the follow-up visits, the referrals to specialists, a new round of appointments and tests, and a new round of follow-up visits before a treatment plan is established.

Then, there’s the treatment process. The trips to Dallas or Houston, the recovery time from the treatments, and then the follow-up visits with the specialist to see whether the body responded to the treatments.

From there, Mom may have gotten better, or she may have gotten worse.

If she’s gotten better, there is a season when things go back to normal, until the disease flares up again. Then, this whole process starts over.

It becomes a vicious cycle. Mom gets sick, treatments, Mom gets better, but not quite as strong as before.

At some point, Mom loses her independence. The daughter may move Mom in with her, or the daughter may place Mom in assisted living or in a nursing home. Either way, she is caring for Mom daily and spending a lot of time with her at the expense of her family, her career, and her own self-care.

Then, the doctors finally tell her, “There’s nothing more we can do. We can’t beat this disease, we can only manage its symptoms moving forward.” As a hospice chaplain, that’s usually when my organization was engaged, and when I got to meet the family.

Each story is as unique and precious as it is common. The people, places, diagnoses and struggles are different, but the story arc is the same.

Daughter is tired.

Often, the family has been devout in their faith, and they turned to the Lord and the church for help. They prayed constantly, yet things didn’t get better.

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As the Bellamy Brothers famously sang, “And behind each wave of tragedy, they waited for the joy.”

But the joy never came.

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Yet, the morning hasn’t come, and we’re not even seeing the first light.

I don’t believe in the “too blessed to be stressed” Christianity. My faith cannot fit on a bumper sticker, and it won’t sell many t-shirts. I’ve seen the real world.

The real world is brutal, heart-breaking, devastating, and at times, merciless.

But God is good! All the time! And the heartbreak He allows to touch our lives serves His purpose, and serves our good. It’s just hard to see through the tears, sometimes.

In Psalm 13, King David asked, “How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? ²How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?”

You get the idea from these verses that King David, too, experienced times when the world was overwhelming, and he was unsure of how he could survive. King David also prayed, consistently, over long periods of time, only to hear no answer back from the Lord.

Just as our storm often continues to rage, King David also saw his storms rage violently and bitterly over long periods of time. There were times when, like us, King David felt as if God were hiding His face from him.

This is when you find out what you truly believe.

This is when you find out if your religion were a cultural exercise, the right thing to say, or whether it was something you truly believed to the point that it shaped your core.

For King David, his faith shaped his core, because even in these desperate situations, David continued to express his unmovable faith toward God.

He went on to say in Psalm 13:3, “Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;”

Even though it appeared as if his prayers were going unanswered, David continued to pray to the Lord, pleading with him to “consider” him, meaning to observe him, be attentive to him, and see his plight. David asked God to hear him, to hear his prayer, his words, his heart and his pain.

David went on to express his faith once again.

“But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. ⁶I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me. (Psalm 13:5-6)”

David trusts in God’s mercy because mercy is at the heart of who God is, and being confident, David knows that the salvation is coming, and will rejoice in that salvation.

Despite the storms of his present time David remembered how God had been good to him before, and he understood that all of life, the good and the bad, are amazing gifts from God.

Therefore, even in the midst of his suffering, David not only trusted God for deliverance, but praised God for His goodness.

And when we reach that level of Spiritual maturity, we are truly becoming the person God intended on us being.

For my hospice patients and families, this meant accepting the fact that the patient’s time on this earth was coming to a close, and that the family’s time with that patient was fleeting.

My job as chaplain was to help them manage the grief of that reality, regain their hope and trust in the Lord, approach that day with hope and purpose, and be at peace when the time came.

That job was accomplished by opening God’s word and demonstrating to them God’s goodness and love even in the midst of this trying time.

Are you in that place right now? If not hospice, maybe financial? Or is there a family situation?

And you’ve prayed over that situation, but the storm continues to rage?

Don’t give up. Remember how good God is. Keep praying, because the morning comes, and with it, the joy of the Spiritual victory God will give.

How Great is Our God?

How awesome is our God?

Within the next few weeks (if it hasn’t already happened,) Christmas decorations and themed merchandise will begin appearing in the local stores. Some complain that retailers roll out the Christmas merchandise too soon.

I think it’s great!

Think about it… for three months, for approximately 25 percent of the calendar year, we will prepare to celebrate a holiday that commemorates the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God.

Now sure, most of the world celebrates the secular aspects of Christmas. The tree, lights, hot chocolate, Santa, gifts and eggnog. And the retailers aren’t rolling out Christmas merchandise to extend their praise for the birth of the Savior, but rather, to make sure they hit their sales goals for the fourth quarter.

I am not oblivious to any of this. Still, the holiday was coined to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and we have an amazing open door in our culture to turn the nation’s attention back to the Lord for almost three months every year.

Think about what God did here. He took a pagan holiday that was re-worked by the Catholic church and transformed it into an annual cultural season centered on His Son. How excellent is that?

Even those who only observe the secular parts of the holiday confess that it is a season of peace and good will toward others. So, even though they may ignore His name, they still celebrate His nature.

In Psalm 8, David opens by saying, “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who has set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.”

God’s name is excellent in the earth because of the praise of His people. And even though His people may not be regarded as powerful or influential by the rest of the world, God is still glorified by their voices. His actions and His work on earth show His power and excellency.

David goes on to say, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitests him?”

David takes in the night sky. This is something that in the western world, we have lost for the most part. The light pollution from the cities makes the night sky less visible. I rarely saw a star when I lived in Austin.

I went to college with kids from Dallas and Houston who had never seen the night sky. As our culture urbanizes, fewer will experience the breath-taking beauty of a clear night sky full of stars.

I’ll be honest. I had forgotten. That is, until I stepped into the parking lot of the church one night. Our small, rural community has very little light pollution, and the night sky shines brightly here. It was amazing.

David takes in the night sky… which is huge, magnificent, and beautiful. On the right nights, the beauty of the night sky can impact you the same way the beauty and power of the ocean can impact you at the beach.

Taking all this in, David wonders, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, and the son of man, that you visit him?”

With all the power and glory in God’s creation, why does He preoccupy Himself with man, and why does He go to such great lengths to care for us?

When you consider the glories of the universe, the fact that we are at the top of God’s mind should blow ours. Out of all He has to show the angels His power and glory, He chooses to direct the attention to us, so that we can reflect the attention back to Him.

In the New Testament, the book of Hebrews will take these same verses and point us to Christ.

Pausing to consider this, David concludes with, “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

We truly worship an amazing God. He is not only glorified by His own creation, but He can take the imperfect things of this world and draw glory from them.

A God this powerful, Who as set his eyes and love toward us, is One worth trusting and worshipping.

Keep the faith, keep moving forward, and keep looking up.

Faith under Fire

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words do hurt, especially when they slander your good name and undermine your life’s purpose.

A false accusation, a baseless rumor, and malicious gossip can ruin your reputation, disrupt your marriage, sideline your ministry, and undermine you career or business. Often, when these false accusations are raised, there is little you can do, because proving something didn’t happen is almost impossible.

For most people, the best you can hope for is that your track record of integrity and good deeds outshines the falsehoods being spoken. That’s hard to rely on, however, as people’s memories are becoming shorter with the proliferation of social media.

This is exactly the situation (minus the social media) that King David faced in Psalm 7. Cush the Benjamite had made serious accusations against David and cursed him. We don’t really know who Cush was, or exactly what his statements were. We do know, the words were severe enough that David took the situation to the Lord, not only through a spoken prayer, but David actually took the time to write this psalm about it.

In the opening verses of Psalm 7, you see the intersection of David’s faith and fear. David proclaims that he is putting his trust in the Lord, while at the same time expressing his fear of what his enemy may do.

“O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me: ²Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.” – Psalm 7:1-2

David professes that he places his trust (faith) in the Lord, and prays for deliverance so that he is not destroyed by the false accusations. He goes on in verses 3-5 to ask the Lord to hold him accountable should there be any truth to the false accusations.

These verses demonstrate the power that faith can give us in these hopeless situations. Furthermore, it shows us the power that comes with a clear conscience toward God and toward those around us.

David was able to ask God to examine his actions and hold him accountable because David knew that he was innocent of the charges being leveled toward him.

Living according to God’s word, doing right by others and glorifying God through our grace and mercy shown to others can help fortify us against situations like this. When the false accusation is leveled, we can in all confidence say, “Search me! For I am clean!”

Furthermore, our faith enables us to trust God to fight this battle, because we are completely incapable of securing the victory on our own.

In verses 6-10, David prays that God will rise up in anger against the wickedness that has come against him. He also proclaims and looks forward to the judgment of God. Again, this is the blessing that comes with a life of faith and a clear conscience.

David doesn’t fear God’s judgment because David knows that he will withstand the judgment because he has been made pure through his faith in the Gospel of God. David knows the judgment will vindicate God’s people, and destroy the wicked.

If you know the Lord as your Savior, you have no reason to fear God’s judgment, and you actually have a reason to look forward to the judgment, because it is the judgment of God that is going to restore everything to what God intended on it being.

David concludes the psalm in verses 11-17 by warning the wicked that the Lord is preparing to make war against them. Therefore, repentance is in order.

So, Psalm 7 teaches us the value of letting faith shape our lives and actions. We learn that we need to trust the Lord through the adversities, conflicts and perils of life. Meanwhile, we also learn the value of having a clean conscience toward God and toward man. When we have those ingredients, we have facilitated the Lord’s defense of us when the attacks come.

So trust the Lord today, and glorify him through your lifestyle.

The Magic of an Honest Prayer

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Several months back, the walls were closing in on me. I had been laid off from Texas Farm Bureau, I was two months without employment, and things in my personal life had gone from bad to worse.

At that moment, a former church member texted me, “People who have no secrets from each other never want for subjects of conversation.”

He went on to explain that his quote was from a 16th-century Bible teacher who used the quote to teach open and honest prayers to God.

He went on to say, “Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one’s heart, its pleasures and pains to a dear friend. Tell Him your troubles that He may comfort you, your joys that He may sober them. Tell Him your longings that He may purify them.

“People who have no secrets from each other never want for subjects of conversation. They do not weigh their words, for there is nothing to be held back. They talk out of the abundance of the heart, without consideration, they say what they think.

“Blessed are they who attain such familiar, unreserved intercourse with God.” (Francois Feneion, 1651-1715)

After receiving that text, I drove out to a local picnic area and lifted my heart up to God, sharing every anxiety of my financial and family situation, my anxieties and fears, my needs and requests.

I had been praying, but I had “Spiritualized” my prayers, couching the words in sanitized language so as to demonstrate acceptance and faith.

But with this prayer, I laid it all out on the table.

“God, you have given me the responsibility to provide for my family, but to do that, I NEED A JOB!”

“God, you have called me to preach your Gospel, but I need you to provide for and enable this ministry!”

“God, I need direction!”

Isn’t it interesting? By the end of the day, I had an interview with a company that would go on to hire me, and transfer me to Austin. After a few months in Austin, I learned that financial services was not God’s calling on my life, and the pursuit of career accomplishments and wealth would never feed my soul.

Again, I prayed, “Lord, please rescue me.”

And now, I sit here in the study at First Baptist Church of Hermleigh, TX, sharing this testimony with you.

Open and honest prayers not only work, and are not only recommended by 16th-century teachers, but they are also Biblical.

Take David’s prayer in Psalm 6, for example. David opens the prayer by begging for God’s mercy, asking God how much longer this season of grief and suffering will continue, and asking to be delivered.

He goes on to discuss how long and how intense his grief is, saying that he makes his bed to swim and waters his couch with his tears.

In Psalm 6, David lays it all out there, before ultimately expressing faith that the LORD will receive his prayer.

David’s prayer is not unlike Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 1, when she prayed out of the bitterness of her heart, asking God not to forget her, and that if she were blessed with a son, she would give him to the Lord and dedicate him to God’s service.

Scripture records multiple times when God heard and answered David’s prayer, and 1 Samuel records how God heard and answered Hannah’s prayer.

When Jesus taught us how to pray during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6, He told us, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”

This concept is what separates David and Hannah’s prayers from the ineffectual prayers of many others. People have been taught to use certain phrases and words when praying, and thus they lose the actual substance of the prayers they lift up to God.

What God wants, however, is for us to be open and honest with Him. He wants us to “Let our requests be made known unto Him.” (Philippians 4:6).

He wants us to be real, to truly explore our hearts and give them over to Him, to allow Him to refine our hearts, answer our requests, and transform us through the process.

When this level of prayer becomes our method of operation, we will truly see the Lord move, and our anxieties will be abated as well.

And if you need help, if you have a special prayer request, feel free to send it to me below. I will be glad to lift your request up in prayer.

Go back

Leland Acker

The Storm Rages On

How Great is Our God?

Faith under Fire

The Magic of an Honest Prayer

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