A Hole in the Storm Clouds (Psalm 116)

1 "I love the LORD, because He hears My voice and my supplications.

2 "Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.

3 "The cords of death encompassed me And the terrors of Sheol came upon me;I found distress and sorrow.

4 "Then I called upon the name of the LORD: 'O LORD, I beseech You, save my life!'"

5 "Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate.

6 "The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.

7 "Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

8 "For You have rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, My feet from stumbling.

9 "I shall walk before the LORD In the land of the living.

10 "I believed when I said, 'I am greatly afflicted.'"

11 "I said in my alarm, 'All men are liars.'"

12 "What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me?

13 "I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of the LORD.

14 "I shall pay my vows to the LORD, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people."

One of the things that has attracted me to the Bible over the years is its inherent realism in things connected to human nature. Have you ever come to a place in life where your pessimism about the people in your life has led you to conclude like this Psalmist, "all men are liars"? Or perhaps you just felt betrayed by friends, or alone, or simply that you had no one you could trust. Many of us have passed through periods in our lives where we have become extremely cynical about the love of others.

The writer of this Psalm freely confesses he's been there and done that; he comes out with the full story holding nothing back. This kind of self-revealing honesty attracts many of us to the Scriptures. The Psalmist could have written it another way. He could have said, "I never doubted God would come through for me! I was unmoved by my troubles and continued to love and forgive those around me" But who would be the liar then?

The great thing about this passage is the hope it communicates to us that depite how bad things can get in life, the possibility remains we will recover and conclude like the Psalmist that on balance, "the LORD has dealt bountifully with you". Maybe you're not there now, but the good news is, the possibility exists you will be there someday.