PURPOSED (Psalm 138)

We have lots of squirrels in our neighborhood, and they "squirrel" 

away their walnuts where I weed my flowers! This sprouted walnut

reminded me that if nuts have purpose (to make more nuts!), then

absolutely God is working out His purposes, even in places we can't see.

(Part of an ongoing series on the 48 psalms recommended for times of feeling "down,” from pastor-counselor David Seamand’s book, Healing for Damaged Emotions.)

I needed a miracle, that summer of 1980. I’d just finished a master’s degree and was job-hunting. I was nearly out of money. Part-time jobs like babysitting and filing had helped buy food. Within weeks I’d have to vacate college housing. Going “home” to my parents’ home—which would mean a trip from Illinois to Washington state--was no longer an option. They’d both died in 1978, and I’d spent a year cleaning out their home and on other death tasks. I left my car behind when I flew back to Chicago to finish my program, relying on Chicago’s public transportation to get around. My “out” was an offer from some older women roommates—one of them the college librarian who heard my story and reached out to me--to temporarily sleep on their couch.

One morning, despairing yet wanting to trust God as all-sufficient, I came across Psalm 138 in my devotional reading schedule. Over and over the psalmist praised God as his help in trouble. Then I came to verse 8. I’d read it before, but now it burned into my heart as hope against hope:

The LORD will accomplish what concerns me;

Thy lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting;

Do not forsake the works of Thy hands. (NASB)

SOMEHOW

Though I didn’t know how—and it might not be the way I had planned things out—the Lord would take care of me. He saw my tears, my angst, but He saw much, much more. As it turned out, I’d be offered a nearby job in my field just days before I had to vacate the college housing. The company arranged for an employee to pick me up and temporarily house me until I could secure and afford my own housing.

Whenever I come back to Psalm 138, that scenario replays in my heart and reminds me to obey the psalm’s first verse: “I will give Thee thanks with all my heart” (NASB). Many Bibles offer chapter titles or summaries as guideposts outside of the actual translated text. In the various translations on my shelf, the title summaries for this psalm have included:

David praises God for the truth of His Word.

Thanksgiving for answered prayer.  God works out his plans for our lives and will bring us through the difficulties we face.

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s favor.

The Lord’s goodness to the faithful.

Give thanks to the Lord.

GRATITUDE

My need of a job was peanuts compared to what King David experienced as a national leader in rough-and-tumble times, and which led to him writing this psalm. But he hit on essential truths of an “attitude of gratitude” as we live out our days on this planet. The psalm makes these points:

*Make sure God gets the glory (vv. 1-3)

*Make sure the lost hear your witness of God’s help and favor (vv. 4-5)

*Experience how God imbues our weakness with His strength. (vv. 6-8)

I could pick apart and cross-reference this psalm a lot. But I go back to this truth: Jesus came low to lift me up! The end result is praise and glory to Him. If we think our circumstances are too dismal, it’s time to re-read Philippians, Paul’s epistle of joy written from a prison. Especially note these verses:

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (1:6)

Rejoice in the Lord always…I will say it again: Rejoice! (4:4)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (4:6-7)