BTR Weekly eNewsletter: Falling Forward Toward the Finish

Issue #701 ~ January 24, 2022

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your encouragement and support. We pray you will be blessed daily through the Word. Please freely share this email with others.

Christ is All and in All,

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Failure: Falling Forward Toward the Finish

"Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;"

Psalm 130:1

Verse 1: "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;"

Let's face it, failure is an inevitable part of the human condition. We fail at business, relationships, at morality, physical goals, and in our spiritual lives. Where do we turn?

Few portions of scripture offer more encouragement for those who fail than Psalm 130. The psalm is a product of a depressing time in David's life.

Historically Psalm 130 takes place following David's sin with Bathsheba, the confrontation with Nathan and the death of his little son. "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord."

Eugene Peterson paraphrases this first verse: "Help, GOD - the bottom has fallen out of my life!"

"The depths" makes reference to overwhelming affliction. A number of Bible characters found themselves in the depths. Jonah in Jonah 2:2 prayed: "From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry" (NIV). Job from the depths said in Job 9:17: "He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason"' (NIV).

Elijah in 1 Kings 19:4: "'I have had enough, Lord,' he said. 'Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors"' (NIV).

David said in 2 Samuel 22:17: "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters" (NIV).

Joseph likewise experienced the depths when he said: "I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon: (Gen. 40:15 NIV).

Jesus tasted the depths when he cried: "...'ELI, ELI LAMA SABACHTHANI?' that is, 'MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?' (Matt. 27:46 KJV).

Paul tasted the depths in 2 Corinthians 1:9 - 10: "indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us" (NASB).

It is not a one-time cry. It is continuous. The Hebrew grammar reveals that in Psalm 130:1. David is saying: "I have cried in the past and I still cry."

To whom did David turn in Psalm 130? This was his redemption. "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord." He made a decision in the "depths." Like the prodigal in the hour of his greatest need and crisis, he would arise and go to his father. He would seek a rescue from above.

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Praises & Prayer Requests

1. Pray: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 2:1, 2 (NASB)

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2. Praise: But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Ephesians 2:4, 5 (NASB)

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3. Pray: Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place. Psalm 28:2 (NIV)

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4. Pray: : In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry.

Jonah 2:2 (NIV)

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5. Praise: Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Galatians 4:6 (NASB)

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I find myself singing that great old hymn "Love Lifted Me":

I was sinking deep in sin, Far from the peaceful shore,

Very deeply stained within, Sinking to rise no more;

But the Master of the sea Heard my despairing cry,

From the waters lifted me, Now safe am I.

Souls in danger, look above, Jesus completely saves;

He will lift you by His love Out of the angry waves.

He's the Master of the sea, Billows His will obey;

He your Savior wants to be, Be saved today.

Loved lifted me! Love lifted me! When nothing else could help,

Love lifted me.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Bible Teaching Resources

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