Psalm 38 - All My Longing is Before You
What are some of the ways suffering can affect our relationship with God? Consider a time of deep suffering in your life. Did it cause you to move closer or further from God? Why do you think that is?
Read Psalm 38:1-9. What issues is the psalmist grappling with in his life? How might these issues be related to one another?
Verse 9 ends the first of 3 cycles of lament in the psalm with a personal call upon the Lord (“O LORD!”) What is the significance of these calls placed at the end of each cycle of lament (vv9, 15, 21)? Why can it sometimes be difficult to gain a glimpse of God in the midst of suffering?
Read Psalm 38:21. Why does the psalmist ask for God to ‘be not far off’? What is it about the nearness of God that makes him long for it?
Read 1 Peter 3:18. How does the suffering of Jesus intersect with our own suffering in this verse? How does the cross give us hope in the midst of suffering?
Spend time praying for one another, especially for those who are in a season of suffering.
If you have time, you can click here to take a short assessment based on Gary Thomas’ book, Sacred Pathways. Thomas’ nine ‘pathways’ are below. Remember, these are not substitutes to the word, prayer, fellowship, etc. They are simply a description of habits that may help us practice the nearness of God in our everyday lives:
Activist
Activists meet God in the vortex of confrontation. They want to fight God’s battles. God becomes most real to them when they are standing up for justice or working on the frontlines to build God’s kingdom.
Ascetic
Ascetics meet God internally. They prefer to shut out the world and meet God in solitude and austerity. For ascetics, the best environment for personal worship is a quiet place with a rather orderly environment, and they usually don’t like the distractions of group worship. They are often advocates of all-night prayer vigils and many of the classical disciplines, such as fasting and meditation.
Caregiver
Caregivers love God by loving others. Providing care or meeting needs in Jesus’ name spiritually energizes caregivers and draws them closer to the Lord.
Contemplative
Contemplatives are marked by an emotional attachment and surrender to God. They are God’s lovers, and they want to spend their time in God’s presence — adoring Him, listening to Him and enjoying Him. They often find benefit in journal writing, where they can explore their heart’s devotion.
Enthusiast
Enthusiasts like the excitement and celebration of group worship and probably buy more praise CDs than books. They feed off the enthusiasm of other believers and typically revel in God’s mystery and supernatural power. Their exuberance tends to lead them to embrace creative forms of worship.
Intellectual
Intellectuals really like books — even the reference kind — and live in the world of concepts. They want to come out of their devotional time with new understanding. If their mind isn’t engaged, their heart may feel cold.
Naturalist
Naturalists’ hearts open up to God when they get outdoors. God seems more real to them when they’re hiking under a big expanse of sky or at least sitting under a tree.
Sensate
Sensates are more aesthetically inclined. These are the artistic types, and they prefer creative and original music or even good architecture to open their hearts to God’s presence. Their worship is about seeing, hearing, feeling, touching and even tasting God’s presence.
Traditionalist
Traditionalists find great meaning by worshiping God according to set patterns — their own or historical ones. They may organize their life around scheduled times of prayer and may even choose to carefully observe the Christian calendar, aligning themselves with centuries of faith. Traditionalists often make good use of Christian symbols.