The Weight of Yesterday

Some days don't begin with strength. They begin with the weight you carried from yesterday, the ache that didn't resolve overnight, the questions that followed you into the dawn, the heaviness that sits quietly in your chest before you even speak a word.  

Psalm 143:8 records: "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life."

Psalm 143:8 is a beautiful prayer, but its beauty becomes even more poignant when you understand the backstory and setting of the psalm.

The backstory. Psalm 143 is attributed to David, traditionally one of the  penitential psalms. The exact event in David’s life isn’t identified, but the language suggests that he is under intense pressure, pursued by an enemy, and spiritually exhausted.

Earlier in the psalm, David says: “The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in the darkness…” And then: “My spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.”

A Sunday Thought.

So verse 8 isn’t being spoken from a peaceful place. David is praying in the dark. He doesn’t know exactly what tomorrow will bring. He doesn’t know how the threat will resolve. He doesn’t even seem to have the strength to figure it all out. The weight of yesterday is being carried. 

But he knows where to turn. “Let the morning bring me word…” David isn’t asking God first for an explanation. He’s asking for a fresh experience of God’s love when morning comes.

This morning, even if you don’t know what is happening or what lies ahead, may our Creator remind you that He is still there. May He show you the way to go, and may you find the courage to say, “I entrust my life to You.”

Shalom…Pkes