🗣️ Psalm 86:11 | Pointing to Hope

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Happy Friday, everyone!

If you missed any of this week’s emails, you can read them here: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

In today’s email…

• 💡 Reviewing what we covered this week

• 🗣️ Sharing the hope found in the Lord’s way

• 📚️ Resources to help you dig deeper

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MEMORIZE 🧠 

____ __ ____ ___, O _____,

that __ ____ ____ in ____ _____;

____ __ ____ to ____ ____ _____.

Psalm 86:11

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CONTEXT 📕 

We’ve learned quite a bit this week!

On Monday, we learned that Psalm 86 is a lament prayer written by King David during a difficult period in his life.

On Tuesday, we followed the path of the prayer, where David cries out to God, supplicating Him with appeals to His character before naming God’s way as the solution to his pain.

On Wednesday, we looked at key phrases and words in our memory verse, understanding that “uniting our hearts” to God is an irreversible step that leads to healing transformation — even though it might mean making some hard choices.

On Thursday, we saw that Jesus, the Son of God, lamented much in the same way. And then walked in the Father’s will perfectly, even though it meant unimaginable pain.

At the heart of this verse, we see a man after God’s own heart. He has experienced wealth and success and tremendous pain and suffering.

Finding himself in a time of difficulty, David chose to submit himself to the Father. He did not ask God to fulfill my way. 

He asked God to Teach me your way.

APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃‍♂️ 

Today’s application is pretty simple.

Use the message of Psalm 86 and the example of Jesus’ own lament to encourage someone today…and it could change their life. 

There is someone in your life who needs to hear this message of hope.

It could be a family member, friend, colleague, and churchgoer who feels overwhelmed and unsure of how to find relief from their struggles.

To be honest, in today’s church culture, we don’t see much messaging when it comes to lament; most of our songs and sermons speak of victory, deliverance, joy, praise, and the like.

But there’s a special place for lament in the worship of God’s people.

So take a chance this week and reach out to that person who’s in your mind right now, and encourage them with the message of this psalm:

It’s OK to struggle… It’s OK to feel pain…And it’s OK to take that pain to God…

Let Him be your refuge.

Prayer of Action

Lord, help me be a shining light of Your love to the people in my life who desperately need to receive it. Help me to bring compassion to those who are suffering with affliction, rejection, and failure.

Show them that You understand their pain, and Your own Son even cried out as His death drew nearer. You are close to the brokenhearted, and You lift them up to show them Your way.

May we all pursue Your will this weekend. Amen. 🙏

RESOURCES 📚️ 

Here are a few resources to help you dig deeper into the verse and its themes:

• 📚️ In the Lord I Take Refuge by Dane Ortlund (link)

• 📚️ Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament by Mark Vroegop (link)

• 💻️ Commentary on Psalm 86: Help from the Great God by Enduring Word (link)

• 🎥 The Spoken Gospel’s Video on Psalm 86 (link)

• 🎥 Sermon: Lament and Hope by Matt Chandler (link)

• 🎵 Psalm 86:11 by the Verses Project (Spotify | Apple Music | Youtube)

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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