Daily Devotional for Thursday, August 22

David’s Suffering

“Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none,” Psalm 69:20.

There is no instant cure for a heart that has been broken by unwarranted cruelty. If you have lived long enough on this earth, you have most likely experienced this type of pain. The suffering is compounded when those who have turned against you are those you love the most. You feel abandoned and alone, and it is times like these that our faith is truly tested. Like Elijah, you may want to run away and wish that God would take your life. But on the mountain, God came to Elijah in a still small voice and reminded him he was not alone (1 Kings 19:9-18).

David’s suffering is expressed in descriptive detail in this psalm. Yet, it is no coincidence that much of it is also prophetic of our Lord and Savior and His suffering on the cross of Calvary. Christ is the One to whom we can turn in our times of grief and pain. He was in horrible agony, like nobody has ever experienced, while in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:44). He was betrayed by one of His closest friends (Luke 22:48). He suffered the worst physical and emotional pain of any other person that has ever lived. No one has ever been more alone than our Lord Jesus when He hung on the cross, and the Father had to turn away because of our sin (Matthew 27:46).

When no other comfort can be found, the Lord Jesus is there. When you go through suffering and there is none to help, turn to Christ. He understands your pain more than anyone ever could. Let His still small voice comfort you. He is a God of compassion, and He cares for you.

REFLECTION
“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).

Darla Goodrum