God Promises Freedom from Despair

Psalms 102:16-20 For the LORD will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory. 17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea. 18 Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD: 19 “The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, 20 to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.”
 
WOULD you describe your life or some circumstance in your life as hard pressed on every side? (2 Corinthians 4:8a) That’s how the apostle Paul defined his life at one point in his gospel ministry. The psalmist would agree.
   Psalm 102 is often called “a prayer of an afflicted man”. He pleads v 1 “Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to you. 2 Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. The next nine verses express a great despair of weary loneliness. He feels God’s condemnation and longs to be safe in God’s presence: V 10 because of your great wrath, for you have taken me up and thrown me aside. These are hard words. Deep despair will do that to one’s soul.
   Would you agree with Paul and the psalm writer? If you love God and you love others, you likely despair over the culture’s constant attacks on Jesus and his faithful church. You despair for those imprisoned in the world’s lies that lead to death and loneliness. Your heart is affected for Christians under great persecution. You mourn the lawlessness and oppression afflicting so many with hunger, diseases and isolation. You may be in despair over the once-full, now empty seats in your church on Sunday morning. Perhaps your family is broken, and you have no solutions.
    When it seems God is a bystander to his world, to his church and to your personal life, you may echo the psalmist’s despair v 11 My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass. Where is your release into joy?
   Jesus said your release is in him. When he began his ministry in Nazareth, Jesus read in the synagogue from Isaiah: Luke 4:18a “The Spirit of the LORD is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. Who are the poor? They were the afflicted Jews who lived in despair for the Messiah’s arrival. Ruled by Rome and other nations for generations, the Jews waited and wondered, “will Jehovah send a Messiah to free us form the prison of our physical and spiritual affliction?”
   Jesus answered the question with: Luke 4:18b He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.”  Then he concluded with these remarkable words: Luke 4:21b “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”         
   The LORD came to rebuild the lost kingdom of God on earth. He came to remove despair’s dark canopy with the skylight of salvation’s glory. Jesus wants the destitute to know he hears their prayers. His grace releases us from despair’s dungeon, so all generations may praise the LORD.
   Paul knew that, too. That’s why he could finish his sentence with the joy of his salvation: 2 Corinthians 4:8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. Despair will strike from many directions. But it does not control the Christian heart. No despair is as great as God’s promise to free you from despair. Keep your eyes up and your heart forward. Jesus is coming to make Zion, the new Jerusalem, your eternal home. This is God’s truth.