Curve Balls

Psa 86:2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy; O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You. 3 Be merciful to me, O Lord; for I cry to You daily. 4 Give joy to the soul of Your servant; for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5 For You, Lord, are good and ready to forgive, and rich in mercy to all those who call on You. 6 Give ear, O Jehovah, to my prayer; and attend to the voice of my prayers. 7 In the day of my trouble I will call on You; for You will answer me.

Mathew Henry`s commentary puts it as follows:

Our poverty and wretchedness, when felt, powerfully plead in our behalf at the throne of grace. The best self-preservation is to commit ourselves to God's keeping. “I am one whom thou favourest, hast set apart for thyself, and made partaker of sanctifying grace”. It is a great encouragement to prayer, to feel that we have received the converting grace of God, have learned to trust in him, and to be his servants. We may expect comfort from God, when we keep up our communion with God. God's goodness appears in two things, in giving and forgiving. Whatever others do, let us call upon God, and commit our case to him; we shall not seek in vain.

Our God alone possesses almighty power and infinite love. Christ is the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth of God, in order to walk therein, than to be delivered out of earthly distress. Those who set not the Lord before them, seek after believers' souls; but the compassion, mercy, and truth of God, will be their refuge and consolation. And those whose parents were the servants of the Lord, may urge this as a plea why he should hear and help them. In considering David's experience, and that of the believer, we must not lose sight of Him, who though he was rich, for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich.

John Gill`s exposition makes this comment:

David had his troubles, both inward and outward, before and after he came to the throne, in private and public life; and every good man has his troubles; and there are some particular times or days of trouble; which trouble arises from different causes; sometimes from themselves, their corruptions, the weakness of their grace, and the poor performance of their duties; sometimes from others; from the persecutions of the men of the world; from the wicked lives of profane sinners, and especially professors of religion, and from the spread of false doctrine; sometimes from Satan and his temptations; and sometimes from the more immediate hand of God in afflictions, and from the hidings of his face: these troubles do not last always; they are but for a day, for a particular time; and such a season is a fit one for prayer, and the Lord invites and encourages his people to call upon him in prayer when this is the case, Psa_50:15. Christ had his times of trouble, in which he called upon his divine Father, Joh_11:33.

Bad things happen to good people, you plan your day, your week, and your year and then life happens. You get thrown the curve ball. The thing you least actually the thing you never expected to happen, happens. Whatever it may be.

It is exactly then, when life seems at it’s lowest, when it seems as if everything you touch, turns to mud, it is then when we are encouraged to run to God. To run to the safe place, where we will receive love, encouragement, and affirmation that everything will be okay. That the thing we are going through, the test and the trial will only last for a season and a time, but it will pass.

It is close to the Father that we realize, that we can make it, that we are not, never have been and never will have to face any trial on our own.

Psa 91:1 Happy is he whose resting-place is in the secret of the Lord, and under the shade of the wings of the Most High; 2 Who says of the Lord, He is my safe place and my tower of strength: he is my God, in whom is my hope. 3 He will take you out of the bird-net, and keep you safe from wasting disease. 4 You will be covered by his feathers; under his wings you will be safe: his good faith will be your salvation.