Today is our first day of a week of studying individual lament. This may be sacrilegious, but this week's subject has me thinking of a Taylor Swift song. The song is called "Me", and I actually LOVE it! One of my favorite lines is "I'm the only one of me, Baby that's the fun of me." It's the ultimate "Me Monster" lyric. Has anyone spent time with a me monster? It's exhausting. They don't listen, they interrupt. If you tell a story, they've lived the same story--bigger and better. You end up trying to best each other, or you finally just give in and let them always make it about them.
King David wrote all three of the psalms we read today. He uses a form of "me" over 30 times in these 28 verses. So is King David a "me monster"? There are times in his life he certainly could be considered a me monster. Just like every human who has ever or will ever walk the earth, King David made some decisions that were for his good alone. But when he writes, when he sings, when he pours out his heart before God, he is brutally honest. He uses the template we found in Deuteronomy 26--He cries, to God, with a list, which turns to praise. In Psalm 3, King David had to flee his God-ordained kingdom after his son, Absalom forms a coup against him and the throne. He is in a cycle of grief. If we wrote it out it would go something like this--Cry to God, here's my list, praise, cry, praise, list, cry, list, praise. Can anyone relate? If you've ever walked through a time of sorrow and regret, you KNOW this is an accurate portrayal of the cycle of grief. Psalms 4 and 5 may be different scenarios, but the rhythm is the same.
So what is the solution to this circle of lament? We will spend the next two weeks looking for our "hinge" moment. It is the pivotal change in thought, word, song that points us back to the goodness of God. God is so good to allow us to be a me monster, for a time. Just like David, just like the lepers, just like Jeremiah the weeping prophet of Lamentations, God seems to be fine with our cries, our complaints, our grief, our emotional roller coasters. But just like David, just like the one leper, just like Jeremiah, this is only ok if we hinge our complaints on the loyal, stubborn, unwavering, steadfast love and faithfulness of God.
"Remember my affliction and my homelessness, the wormwood and the poison. I continually remember them and have become depressed. Yet this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope. Because of the LORD's faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end." Lamentations 3:3-4
"But one of them, seeing that he was healed, returned and, with a loud voice, gave glory to God." Luke 17:15
Can you find the hinge moment(s) in each of our Psalms today? It's when we turn our attention from ourselves and turn it to the One who has "put more joy in our hearts than what others have when their grain and new wine abound." "I'm the only one of me, baby that's the fun of me" may be a me-monster lyric, but only until we turn to say to God{kneels in prayer--God please forgive me for this shallow comparison to Your unfathomable Holiness. May others get the gist. Amen.} "You're the only One of You, baby that's the fun of You!" For His glory alone. Me!
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