OF OWLS AND SPARROWS

PSALM 102 -A PRAYER OF ONE AFFLICTED, WHEN HE IS FAINT AND POURS OUT HIS COMPLAINT BEFORE THE LORD.

“Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you! Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call! For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread. Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh. I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places; I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop. All the day my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse. For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink, because of your indignation and anger; for you have taken me up and thrown me down. My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.” (Psalm 102:1–11, ESV)

When days are dark in spite of the shining sun and the smile you wear hides a wilted joy, affliction has visited you. Few take the journey of life without soon coming into contact with his lifeless gaze. Reasons abound, but one thing is for certain, when his cold stare is upon you, it feels as though you have nowhere to escape. Around every turn, permeating every decision, present in every arena, is affliction’s stare, reminding you ever-so painfully of the despair of life. Making matters worse is a deep, almost aching feeling that God is no longer with you … or for you.

The psalmist seems to have an uncanny familiarity with our anguish. It’s striking. Even startling. It’s as though he has climbed into our skin-suits and walked in our shoes. Or perhaps his familiarity has more to do with the fact that affliction is a dreadful drink we all must endure at one time or another. Nevertheless, in spite of the steady sting that is felt when reading the psalmist’s words, there also is within the words a faint drip of hope. With no attempt to couch his words in sanctified apparel, the psalmist simply expresses his feelings in all of their gray and black tones. Yet, somehow in the midst of his broken cries are lessons for life. Lessons that we can all benefit from.

FOR STARTERS, LET’S LEARN TO IDENTIFY THE MARKS OF AFFLICTION.

There’s something rather cathartic about talking with someone who “gets you”, understands you, resonates with you. For the afflicted, the psalmist of Psalm 102 is such a man. In his own cry, we hear our cracking voice and in his effort to lay his wounds bear, we see ourselves.

Here’s what he helps us understand…

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AFFLICTION OFTEN CAUSES US TO FEEL A SENSE OF ...

DISTANCE - “Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress!

In spite of all we know to be true about God, our emotions tell us a far different story. Scripture teaches us that God is close to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit (ps 34:18), but our emotions tell us that God is ashamed of our plight and averting our presence.

NEGLECT - Incline your ear to me;

God’s word reminds us that He heals the brokenhearted and even cares for their wounds (ps 147:3) but our “feelers” tell us that God is out of the proverbial office, his number changed, and our prayers being sent to an undeliverable address.

DELAY - answer me speedily in the day when I call!

God’s word reminds us that waiting is not merely a nuisance to be endured but a precious charge from the Captain of our souls. We’re told in Psalm 27:14 to “14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Although everything in us cries out in urgent desperation for immediate answers, God seldom shows up early and is never late.

FUTILITY - For my days pass away like smoke,

One of the more ruthless emotions we experience in the midst of affliction is the sensation that our life is futile and is passing away right before our eyes like a puff of smoke. But God’s word teaches us that there are times and seasons for everything, including the sorrow that you are currently enduring. In fact, according to God’s word, there is a time to celebrate new life and a time to soberly face death; a time to sew seeds in hope of harvest and a time to uproot that which has sprouted; a time to take life and a time to heal the lives of those who are hurting; a time to break and dismantle and a time to build or perhaps rebuild; a time for the eyes to become canals for tears and a time for the mouth to open with laughter; a time to mourn and a time to dance. (Ecc 3:1-4)

ANGST - and my bones burn like a furnace.

The pressures of life and affliction we face often leave us with a smoldering fire in the bones; the kind that slowly eats away from the inside out. Consequently, it’s not at all uncommon to continue pressing on in life in a valiant attempt to remain productive all while enduring a constant burn of angst in the bones. But God reminds us that when we are faced with the cares of this broken world and the reminders of a broken life, that we can cast those cares upon Him. He cares! (1 Pet 5:7) Far from a vain attempt to offload our struggles into the hands of a reluctant recipient, God stands before us waiting, in care and compassion, for us to realize that His hands are much bigger, His back much stronger, and His heart more compassionate than any of us truly know.

DESPONDENCY - My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;

No doubt, there are those reading this whose hope has dissipated and whose heart has withered. Not surprising. The afflictions of life have a way of doing this. One moment we are walking in the bright sun of a good life and the next moment that very sun we once enjoyed seems to be relentlessly beating down upon us, leaving us a wilted mess. If only we could grasp the sentiment of the psalmist who reminds us that comfort awaits us from the Lord, in spite of the cares that seem to shrink our hearts. (Ps 94:19)

INAPPETENCE (loss of appetite) - I forget to eat my bread.

For some, affliction has a way of stealing our appetites and confiscating our time. Far from unusual is the reality of carrying one’s bruised soul through the waking hours of a day, feeding our reservoir of pity while neglecting the emptiness of our stomachs.

LANGUISHING - Because of my loud groaning, my bones cling to my flesh.

It’s not unusual for some to experience noticeable weight loss during times of painful affliction, due to its almost paralyzing effects. One who was at one time healthy and vibrant now walks about with his or her skin seemingly painted onto their bones. Every glance into the mirror is a painful reminder of the afflictions of life.

DISLOCATION - I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places;

The psalmist seems to envision here a type of owl, according to some scholars, that would have had no business whatsoever in a desert. If this is, in fact, accurate, we’re being brought into a painful reality that visits many who are facing affliction. Though subtle it may be, a sinking feeling often sets in causing one to feel as though he or she is no longer where they ought to be in life. The weary feeling of being out of place or dislocated. Perhaps the day before, all felt normal, surroundings seemed comfortable, and the norms and routines of life felt secure. But affliction came. Now there is an overwhelming shout that seems to constantly refrain in our doubt-filled heads, telling us that we’re out of place, out of sight and out of reach. An owl in the desert!

LONELINESS - I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.” (Psalm 102:2–7, ESV)

Affliction hasn’t finished his work until he’s hacked away at the deepest part of our inner thoughts. Oftentimes the heart of the afflicted is stricken with an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. Mind you, loneliness isn’t the same as being alone but often the two go hand in hand. What’s worse, those going through the anguish of heart frequently struggle to distinguish between the two. The psalmist here describes a sparrow, a bird not at all accustomed to the “isolated life”, alone, on a rooftop, with no companions in view. It’s a sad image of what the afflicted often experience. At times, the gnawing pain of loneliness strikes the downtrodden heart even while being surrounded by those who love and genuinely care. Loneliness is the most unwanted companion in times of affliction but his visits come often and are often unannounced. It’s debilitating. The absurdity of loneliness is that its a wound without blood, an injury with no weapon in sight. Yet, it's every bit as devastating as a firm thrust from a cold, rusty blade. It’s a problem. There’s little need to expound upon the statistics. It’s one of the more well-used implements of affliction.

REPROACH - All the day my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse.

Unfortunately, affliction rarely deals with us in private, behind closed doors, and away from watching eyes and listening ears. On the contrary, it often drags us onto the stage of life; whether at work, within the family, before our friends, and at times even within the eyesight of our neighbors, and shines the spotlight onto our bleeding hearts. As a result, much to our dismay, our wounds often become the source of thoughtless bantering and insidious attacks from untouched onlookers. Like the scoffer of Psalm 10, the reproaching voices of those around us say that “God has forgotten”, but God says “I will neither leave nor forsake you!” (Deut 31:6, Heb 13:5)

WEEPING - For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink, because of your indignation and anger;

Those afflicted may be without an appetite for food but affliction has a way of serving up grief and tears like nothing else. Within the walls of a broken heart, it sometimes seems that a bottomless cavern of tears is held, leading to what feels like a lifetime of crying. Unfortunately, it’s during times of great affliction that many are led to believe that no end will ever come. But God’s word reminds us that in spite of the nights drenched with tears, the morning will come. No, it may not be when we wish, but it will come, and when it does, joy, will be found once more. (Ps 30:5)

REJECTION - for you have taken me up and thrown me down.

If you are there, in the middle of affliction, it’s possible that you feel as though God has wrapped you up in His arms only to slam you to the ground. It’s a lie. Don’t believe it.

Be reminded, 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15–16)

Pictured here is a throne, overflowing with buckets of grace. Much to our joy is the fact that the one dispensing it doesn’t see and hear the broken ones appealing to Him as those who are worthless and making much about nothing. On the contrary, He understands, He feels, He sympathizes…and He gives! He gives in our time of need!

HOPELESSNESS - My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.

Of intrigue is the language here which reminds us of an often experienced pain in the life the afflicted. Days become nothing more than shadows…vague, indefinite, hazy blots of shade and darkness that are here then gone. Such is the plight of the afflicted, the days seem to evaporate and our very lives seem to shrink more and more with each passing day. But there’s hope!

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AFTER IDENTIFYING THE MARKS OF AFFLICTION, WE NEED TO BE QUICK TO APPLY IT’S REMEDY...SPIRITUAL HEART RE-CALIBRATION

Somewhere between the waves of affliction, the psalmist is reminded of the greatness of God. No, He hasn’t kept him from the pain…but He’s with him in it. No, He hasn’t spared him the suffering…but He’s walking with him through it. No, He hasn’t provided an offramp…but He’s never left him alone! Neither has He abandoned you.

So raise your head broken one, lift your chin, you who feel shattered, open your eyes afflicted one, and turn your gaze to the one who captivated the heart of the broken psalmist. There He is! Somehow in the midst of his shattered world, the psalmist is able to open his eyes wide enough and quiet his groaning long enough to see One who was greater than the source of his groaning. Pay attention, life-giving truth is around the corner!

Eugene Peterson’s rendering of the remainder of the passage provides an envigorating vantage point to see it from.

12 Yet you, God, are sovereign still, always and ever sovereign. 13 You’ll get up from your throne and help Zion— it’s time for compassionate help. 14 Oh, how your servants love this city’s rubble and weep with compassion over its dust! 15 The godless nations will sit up and take notice —see your glory, worship your name— 16 When God rebuilds Zion, when he shows up in all his glory, 17 When he attends to the prayer of the wretched. He won’t dismiss their prayer. 18 Write this down for the next generation so people not yet born will praise God: 19 “God looked out from his high holy place; from heaven, he surveyed the earth. 20 He listened to the groans of the doomed, he opened the doors of their death cells.” 21 Write it so the story can be told in Zion, so God’s praise will be sung in Jerusalem’s streets 22 And wherever people gather together along with their rulers to worship him. 23 God sovereignly brought me to my knees, he cut me down in my prime. 24 “Oh, don’t,” I prayed, “please don’t let me die. You have more years than you know what to do with! 25 You laid earth’s foundations a long time ago, and handcrafted the very heavens; 26 You’ll still be around when they’re long gone, threadbare and discarded like an old suit of clothes. You’ll throw them away like a worn-out coat, 27 but year after year you’re as good as new. 28 Your servants’ children will have a good place to live and their children will be at home with you.” (Psalm 102:12–28 (The Message)

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WITH SOME MINOR LIBERTIES, HERE’S WHAT THE PSALMIST TEACHES US.

1. GOD’S GOT THIS- HE IS SOVEREIGN - 12 Yet you, God, are sovereign still, always and ever sovereign.

He always has been, currently is, and always will be. To say this is to say that He and He alone possesses the right and power to control all things and no other is in charge! In other words, He’s got this…and He’s got you! Trust this!

2. GOD’S GOT YOU - HE IS A HELPER –13 You’ll get up from your throne and help Zion— it’s time for compassionate help.

In fact, one of the more comforting statements in all of God’s word for those who are hurting is from Psalm 46:1 which says that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Believe this!

3. GOD’S ABOUT TO SHOW OFF - HE WILL BE GLORIFIED – 14 Oh, how your servants love this city’s rubble and weep with compassion over its dust! 15 The godless nations will sit up and take notice —see your glory, worship your name— 16 When God rebuilds Zion, when he shows up in all his glory,…

That’s right…in some capacity, in some way, God will work in the lives of His people, both collectively and individually, so as to cause a watching world to sit up and take notice! Celebrate this!

4. GOD’S NEVER STOPPED LISTENING - HE HEARS YOU..YES YOU! –17 When he attends to the prayer of the wretched. He won’t dismiss their prayer.

Though you may feel miles away from his listening ears, God hears the prayers of those in affliction and He will not dismiss you. No, this doesn’t mean that He will answer just as you wish, but remember, He knows what you need before you even speak. As a good Father, he will do for you what needs to be done in order to do through you what He desires to be done!

5. GOD’S ALWAYS AT WORK - HE IS WRITING A STORY! – 18 Write this down for the next generation so people not yet born will praise God: 19 “God looked out from his high holy place; from heaven, he surveyed the earth. 20 He listened to the groans of the doomed, he opened the doors of their death cells.” 21 Write it so the story can be told in Zion, so God’s praise will be sung in Jerusalem’s streets 22 And wherever people gather together along with their rulers to worship him. 23 God sovereignly brought me to my knees, he cut me down in my prime. 24 “Oh, don’t,” I prayed, “please don’t let me die. You have more years than you know what to do with!

That’s right. The work He is doing, even through your affliction, is not merely for you, but for others. In fact, though we do not want to take it too far, I dare say that just as it was for those whom the psalmist had in mind, God is writing a story in and through your life that will be for the benefit of even those who have not yet taken their first breaths!

6. GOD’S NOT GOING ANYWHERE – HE IS UNFADING –25 You laid earth’s foundations a long time ago, and handcrafted the very heavens; 26 You’ll still be around when they’re long gone, threadbare and discarded like an old suit of clothes. You’ll throw them away like a worn-out coat, 27 but year after year you’re as good as new. 28 Your servants’ children will have a good place to live and their children will be at home with you.”

He is as vibrant, active, interested, engaged and attentive as He ever has been. The very one who spoke the world into existence still stands over His creation as the sovereign one. He never sleeps so he sees your sleepless nights. He never grows weary so he remains attentive even when you feel like giving up.

TAKE JOY MY FRIEND! GOD IS WITH YOU, HE SEES YOU, HE HEARS YOU, HE HAS NOT AND WILL NOT FORSAKE YOU!

In a world that often leaves us feeling like desert-ridden owls and lonely sparrows, God has not forgotten you!

Consider the words from one author...

Elihu, in the Book of Job, asked, “Where is God who giveth songs in the night?” David in the 42nd Psalm, answered, “In the night His songs shall be with me.” The strongest argument of the atheist has to do with the problem of human suffering.

Epicurus, who lived 342–270 B.C., presented three concepts about God and human suffering: (1) If God wishes to prevent evil and cannot, He is not all powerful; (2) If God can prevent evil and will not, He is not good; (3) If God has the power and will to eliminate evil, why is there evil in the world?

The fallacy is his belief that no good can be served by God’s allowing evil or suffering. Everyone will pass through dark valleys sooner or later. All will become ill. Some will become permanently ill. It is an illusion that this side of heaven all diseases will be wiped out. For all of us there will be periods of suffering, bereavement, discouragement, danger and difficulty. There are those who give up their fidelity to God because they do not believe God is fair. They ask, “What have I done to deserve this?” “Why are children born retarded or born dead?” “Why is there cancer?” “Why me?”

How will we answer these and similar questions? How will we learn to sing songs at night? By having faith in the sovereignty of God. The world is not being ruled by a chance but by a God who is in control.

Even a sparrow cannot fall without His notice. So, He cares about us. Nothing can happen that does not concern God. Jesus sang in the darkest night of His life on earth. The Apostle John sang songs of joy and praise while in exile on the island of Patmos. At midnight, David arose to give thanks to God (Ps. 119:62). Paul said, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10). Our lives will become stronger and our spirituality deeper when we learn to sing at midnight.[i]

Sing at midnight friend…no matter the depth of its darkness, look to the one who alone can put a song in your heart and who never takes His eyes off of the broken sparrows of this sometimes treacherous world.

Psalm 119:49–64 (ESV) — 49 Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. 50 This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. 51 The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law. 52 When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O Lord. 53 Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law. 54 Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning. 55 I remember your name in the night, O Lord, and keep your law. 56 This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept your precepts. 57 The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep your words. 58 I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. 59 When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; 60 I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments. 61 Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law. 62 At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules. 63 I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts. 64 The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes!

May the God of peace, ever wise and with love unfathomable, prove Himself to be more than sufficient for all of your troubles!

[i] AMG Bible Illustrations (Bible Illustrations Series; Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2000).