GRAY DAYS

                Back in 1971, the Carpenters came out with “Rainy Days and Mondays.” The tag line at the end of each verse was, “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.” Sadly the message of that song was all too true for Karen Carpenter. She died at the age of 32 from complications caused by anorexia nervosa.

                We have endured a series of rainy days over the past week. Yesterday, with overcast skies and constant drizzle, I sank into a profound lethargy. I was tired, irritable, and sullen. Not exactly the way I wanted to spend my day off. It is sad how gray days can steal our joy and drain our energy.

                As a part of my daily devotions, I have been reading Tim & Kathy Keller’s devotional book on the Psalms, The Song of Jesus. If a person spends any length of time in the Psalms, they quickly realize that the Psalmist faced his share of gray days. Although we love to camp out in the Psalms of praise, there are far more Psalms of lamentation; i.e. complaining.

                One of the recurring cries in the Psalms is the phrase “How long, O Lord!” It is a cry of desperation. It is a cry for help and rescue. Psalm 13 is a short Psalm of David that speaks to us in our rainy days and Mondays.

Psalm 13:1-6

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts

and every day have sorrow in my heart?

 How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, O Lord my God.

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"

and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,

 for he has been good to me.

                Not all gray days are literally rainy. We all face gray days that come from a variety of sources; disappointment, frustration, conflict, discouragement. In a nutshell, David gives us a path to follow when we find ourselves mired in our gray days.

                David was a master at expressing his true emotions to God. Ironically, we often try to hide our emotions from God. We put on a spiritual happy face, when inside we are dying. David openly called out God and God rewarded him for it. David was not being belligerent or disrespectful. He was drawing on the close relationship that he had with God. So when the gray days came, he was able to call out to God and ask, where are you?

                The first step for us to get through our gray days is to be honest with ourselves and with God about our emotions. If we try to deny how we are feeling, we will only sink deeper into the darkness. It is essential that we name our discontent. God is not offended when we cry out to Him. In fact, He invites us to do exactly that. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7) We don’t have to clean up our feelings and make them “acceptable.” Like David, we can be honest before God.

                David didn’t just wallow in self-pity and discouragement. David called upon God to come to his rescue. He openly asked God for what he needed at that moment to get through the gloom. He knew that he was powerless in himself to prevail. He also knew that God is more than adequate to help him prevail. So David pleaded with God to act, and to act quickly.

                Like David, we need to have the courage to ask God for what we need in the moment. If all we do is complain, we will remain stuck. Instead, we need to ask for two things from God, whenever we are trapped in the gray days of life. First, we must ask for God’s perspective on the situation. David asked that God would give light to his eyes. He wanted to see beyond his circumstances. If we are going to weather the gray days, we need God’s perspective. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:2-3)

                The second thing we must ask for is God’s strength. Gray days sap us of our energy. We can try to generate new energy on our own, but we are limited. But the energy of God is unlimited. When we tap into His energy, the darkness dissolves. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:12-13)

                David rarely ended a Psalm is despair, no matter how dark it began. After David expressed his emotions and his need to God, he turned to his hope in God. David new that, no matter how gray the day may be, God is faithful to His children. At the end of Psalm 13, David is saying, although I am hurting right now and I don’t really understand what is going on, I will trust in the unfailing love of God.

                During the gray days of life, our hope is in Christ, who has promised to never leave us or forsake us. Jesus never promised that we would not face gray days. In fact, He warned us that we would have our share. What He did promise is that He would walk with us through the gray days. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

                This morning the sun has come out. Today the world looks fresh and clean, instead of gray and dreary. I can hear the birds singing outside of my window. They announce the promise of a better day.

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.