PSALM 130 – “A SONG OF ASCENTS. Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!  O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!  If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?  But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.  I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”

THEME OF THE DAY: THE OVERWHELMED CHRISTIAN.  Overwhelmed.  We know the experience well. Painfully so.  We get overwhelmed by life’s difficult circumstances, the twists and turns of living in a fallen world, the reality of our exhausting battle against sin, and the ease at which our emotions and moods take us into seasons of discouragement, even depression.  Yes, we know what it is like to be overwhelmed and not in a good way.

Today’s scripture is about being overwhelmed. I penned the title “The Overwhelmed Christian” in my Bible at the beginning of this Psalm.  The type of being overwhelmed in the Psalm is the opposite of what I defined in the opening paragraph in today’s devotion.   As we read the Psalm, it is not difficult to see the overwhelmed heart of the Psalmist.

First, there is the sense of being overwhelmed with life that prompts an urgent cry for help – “Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy” (Psalm 130:1-2).  Who has not experienced this? Every child of God!  And it is good because it drives us to seek Him who enables us to handle the overwhelming circumstances in life.

Then, the Psalmist is overwhelmed with his iniquities coupled with the Lord’s holiness – “If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3). This too is a good application of being overwhelmed. We see ourselves for who we truly are – sinners in desperate need of grace and mercy as we see our holy, holy, holy God before us.

A third experience of being overwhelmed is with the depth of forgiveness from our Lord – “But with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared” (Psalm 130:4).  What joy it is to know the Lord’s forgiveness when we deserve none!  To be overwhelmed with the grace of God leading to forgiveness is the foundation for true worship.  Oh, to experience more and more this glorious aspect of being overwhelmed by forgiving grace.

Finally, the soul-stirring and heart-warming experiences of being overwhelmed by the steadfast love of God – “O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption” (Psalm 130:7).  Loved by God, not based on our conduct, performance, or worth within ourselves, but loved by Him, by His choice, through His Son, for His good pleasures and never removed from us!  Now that is from being overwhelmed?

So, there are two ways to be overwhelmed in life; bad and good.  The former occurs when we attempt to do life alone, apart from the Lord. The latter is overwhelmed with the goodness and grace of the Lord which always leads to greater joy and delight in Him.

PRAYER: Father, I praise You for such a God as You who overwhelms me with grace, mercy, and love.

REFLECTION: There is a good way to be overwhelmed in life, and that with the goodness of God.