I have completed reading through every book in Psalms, including Psalm 119 (ha). What a wonderful collection of thoughts, prayers, cries, concerns, praises and emotions. No other book for me, except Psalms teaches us how to deal with emotional stress and labor. We deal with people everyday, our emotions can become wounded and drained, other times they can be refreshed and renewed. King David finally helps us understand how to properly deal with emotions. The standard approach in the church world for emotions can be…”suppress them, no matter what you feel, just remain positive”..there is some truth to that. The standard approach in the world can be the other extreme “Say what you feel, just let it all out”..this can be liberating to the person and harmful to the listener. David understood something that really kept him close to the Lord, no matter what or how he felt towards life or people, he would “pour out” his concerns and complaints before God, then he would always praise God regardless of what he was feeling. It was the combination of sorts, be honest about how you feel but speak truth over yourself. This particular chapter in Psalms 142 captures this approach:
I pour out my complaints before him
and tell him all my troubles. When I am overwhelmed,
you alone know the way I should turn.
Wherever I go,my enemies have set traps for me. I look for someone to come and help me,
but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me. Then I pray to you, O LORD.I say, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life”
Notice how david starts his prayer…and how he ends it. This is how we need to learn how to deal with emotional stress and labor in prayer, pouring out honestly what we feel To God alone, to God first, then giving God praise and speaking truth over ourselves.
