The Vice Grip of Life

 

A Series on the Psalms – a collection of prayers
Feeling stressed
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Psalm 31

[Life is filled with emotions. The book of Psalms is a collection of prayers that express our emotions which are the cry of our soul for help and hope. In this series, we will be looking into the Psalms to learn more about ourselves and our Lord.]

  

From 1991-1999, there was a popular TV sitcom called “Home Improvement”. The storyline was about Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, who was the host of a home improvement TV show. Tim always liked tools that had more power. VROOM!!!

 

Because of that, he may not have been familiar with vice grip pliers. The beauty of a vice grip is that you can tighten it as much as you want and then lock it in place, freeing up your hands to do something else. It’s a way to work smarter, but not necessarily with more power.

 

In life, sometimes you feel like a vice grip has you in its teeth and won’t let you go. When that happens, you can feel it squeezing tighter and tighter until you think your head’s going to explode. David felt that way.

 

The pressure and stress of his life affected him physically, emotionally, spiritually and socially. He described himself as being “consumed by anguish”, “drained of his strength”, and “wasting away from within”. He felt isolated and paranoid. Fear reigned within.

 

¹¹ I am scorned by all my enemies
    and despised by my neighbors—
    even my friends are afraid to come near me.
When they see me on the street,
    they run the other way.
¹² I am ignored as if I were dead,
    as if I were a broken pot.           NLT

 

But in the eye of the hurricane of his life, David remembered the goodness of God; that the Lord offered good gifts “stored up for those who fear him”; that the Lord had “shown the wonders of his unfailing love”. Because of this, David reached out to the Lord.

 

¹⁴ But I am trusting you, O Lord,
    saying, “You are my God!”
¹⁵ My future is in your hands.
    Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.     NLT

 

About one thousand years later, Jesus was hanging on a cross on Golgotha outside of Jerusalem. He had been rejected by all of his closest friends and followers. Darkness fell over the land, the sun stopped shining and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. With his dying breath Jesus quoted David from Psalm 31.

 

⁴⁶ Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.                NIV    Luke 23

 

You may never experience the vice grip of life like David did, and definitely not like Jesus did. But when it does clamp its teeth down on you… remember the goodness of God; trust in him by putting your hand in his; and say to him, “You are my God”.

 

²⁴ Be strong and take heart,
    all you who hope in the Lord.   NIV

 

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

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