📊 Psalm 86:11 | Cry for Help

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Happy Tuesday, everyone!

It’s another great day to be alive! Today’s email is brought to you by Your Move Collective, an organization that exists to engage the religiously unaffiliated with the teachings of Jesus.

If you missed yesterday’s email, you can read it here.

In today’s email…

• 📖 Digging into David’s lament

• 🤔 A reflection and prayer to process with God

• 📊 Trivia: how well do you know the Psalms?

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MEMORIZE 🧠 

Teach me your ____, O Lord,

that I may ____ in your ____;

unite my ____ to fear your ____.

Psalm 86:11

CONTEXT 📕 

Psalm 86 is called “A Prayer of David.”

It’s a lament psalm written during a deeply painful moment in David’s life.

We know that Psalm 86 is about pain — but it also shows the solution to pain.

There are two broad sections of this psalm:

1. David gives reasons for needing God’s help (v1–7)

2. David declares his dependence on God to ease his pain (v8–17)

The first section of this psalm appeals to the character of God:

• His goodness

• His graciousness

• His faithfulness

David admits that he is “poor and needy” (v1), but he is committed and connected to God (v2).

He also confesses that his cry is ongoing (v3–4), acknowledging that God is “good and ready to forgive” (v5), and he has confidence that the Lord will answer his prayer (v6–7).

In the second section, David doesn’t sit still and wallow in his misery — he moves towards the solution God provides.

Here, David declares the greatness of God (v8–10), and then he arrives at the solution in verses 11–12, where we find our memory verse:

The remaining verses (v13–17) restate David’s dependence on God’s grace and close with one final plea for help.

David models for us the importance of moving towards God, knowing His ways and then walking in them.

TOGETHER WITH YOUR MOVE COLLECTIVE

Online Searches Met with Hope

The number of adults with no religious affiliation has nearly doubled in a decade— climbing from 42 million in 2009 to 75 million today (Pew Research).

For millions, faith feels irrelevant. Yet, they’re searching online for happiness, meaning, and hope. They’re not expecting to find Jesus in those moments, but that’s exactly where we meet them.

At Your Move Collective, we meet them in their search to introduce them to Jesus where they least expect it–online.

Be part of the movement to reach these 75 million people with the hope of Jesus.

APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃‍♂️ 

Think about what you’re struggling with right now — it could be failed relationships, a disappointing career, an addiction that has a tight grip on you.

Are you bringing God your struggles? Are you turning to Him?

Or are you isolating yourself, trying to grin and bear it?

Here’s the thing: The Lord is calling you to come to Him:

He wants to be with you.

And He will show His way to guide you through the struggles.

So you can emerge out the other side renewed, strengthened, and ready to move forward.

Prayer of Dependence 

Heavenly Father, I confess to you that my faith often wavers, and I try to solve my problems in my own strength, in my own way.

Just as David poured himself out in this psalm, I declare my dependence on You to guide me through my struggles.

Teach me to cast my cares on You, looking to Your Word for truth and to surround myself with the right people to encourage me. Amen. 🙏

TRIVIA 📊 

ANSWER KEY ✅ 

Teach me your way, O Lord,

that I may walk in your truth;

unite my heart to fear your name.

Psalm 86:11