A Prayer When Suffering Seems Without Boundaries

Psalm 118

"And I placed boundaries on it and set a bolt and doors, And I said, “Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop" (Job 38:10-11 NASBS). The Lord spoke these words to Job explaining His mighty power and ruling of all things. The boundaries the Lord set on the seas and oceans were not the only things He hemmed in with His power and authority. If you read through Job 38-40, it is astounding to think of all the things our Lord governs. He laid the foundations of the earth, commands the morning and causes the dawn to know its place, He reserves storehouses of snow and hail for His appointed time, He divides the light and directs the wind, brings rain, and makes seeds sprout. He wisely governs all these things. Not only did God show His power to place limitations on the created world, but also in the story of Job, He demonstrates His power and right to exercise a restraining hand on the suffering of His people (Job 1:12; 2:6). Our own personal suffering and distresses are governed by Him as well, and He has set His limits upon our present suffering.

As children of God, our suffering is never without limits. There will never be a time in our lives when Satan, the world, or our own enemy within will be able to have a free for all in our lives, minds, or hearts. There are boundaries to our affliction, and these boundaries are set by our loving Father who knows exactly what we need. These limits to our suffering may not be the limits we would have chosen. The boundary lines of our suffering may extend farther than we would have chosen for ourselves in regards to longevity and severity. The Lord may set those limits at a place far behind what we thought we could (or wanted) to endure. Every believer and every experience of suffering is ordained sovereignly to the minutest detail by the Lord. A God, who gives the horse his might and by His command the eagle mounts up (Job 39:19,27), is our God who places limits and boundaries to our suffering.

In Psalm 118, the psalmist calls himself and the congregation to give thanks to the Lord for His help in delivering them from their foes. The situation was a difficult one. They were in distress, surrounded on every side by those who hated them, and the psalmist said, "I was pushed hard, so that I was falling" (Psalm 118:13). But the Lord had valiantly helped them. As the psalmist recalls the events to mind, he recognized a limit God had placed on his suffering. He said, "The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death" (118:18). The Lord, in His sovereign will, had declared to the psalmist's suffering, "Thus far you shall come, but no farther." God governs our sufferings with equal wisdom. The set limits He places will look differently for each situation and each child of God. So what common boundaries to our suffering can we be sure of? What limits are placed on our affliction? Think of these things as a wall around you and your suffering. Your affliction is hemmed in on every side by these truths. Your suffering cannot exceed these boundaries.

1. God’s intention in our suffering is good and not evil. Your suffering, and mine, has the boundary of the good purposes of God. What if we could not rely on the good purposes of God? What if we could not confidently say, “You are good and do good” (Psalm 119:68)? What if, like Joseph’s brothers, God intended evil in our suffering? But we have a good and kind Father who controls all things, including the distress that you and I are walking through right now, and while others may have intended evil, God intends good and will, by His power, fulfill His own good purposes in our suffering. He brings beauty from ashes, turns mourning into joy, and brings gladness and joy when before there was sorrow and sighing. The psalmist in Psalm 118 calls the congregation to give thanks to the Lord for He is good, in His acts of deliverance and salvation and in times of adversity (Psalm 118:1,29).

2. God will never lead us to sin in our suffering. God may use our suffering to reveal our sinfulness, but He never goads us or tempts us to sinfulness through our painful experiences. He is not capriciously sending us suffering to watch us trip up. God is neither tempted by evil nor tempts anyone (James 1:13). In fact, He does the opposite. His goal is to purify our faith, strengthen our perseverance, and make us like His Son. His boundary for your suffering is an increase in holiness. In Psalm 118, the psalmist said the Lord had disciplined him severely (118:18). He was pushed hard, so that he was falling, but the Lord had helped him (118:13). Then we see a picture of Christ. "The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone"(118:22). Christ our cornerstone, Christ our righteousness, Christ our Elder Brother, is what God sees when He looks on His children, and "God is making you like Jesus in the hardships of real life" (Powlison). Suffering is a means to holiness.

3. God’s grace, strength, His Word, and He Himself will never be insufficient in our time of suffering. Your suffering is surrounded by the sufficient grace and inexhaustible strength of our Savior. Our hardships will never be so great that God cannot supply what we need. He has said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB). He will supply all you need according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). And "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8). God does not make some grace trickle to you, but rather all grace abound to you. He has not given us some sufficiency in a few things and at occasional times, but rather all sufficiency in all things at all times, including days of distress. And the goal is that even in our suffering we can abound in every good work.

4. We will never be alone. Our suffering never leads us to a place where God cannot be. Has your suffering made you at times feel as if you are in the pits of hell? “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” (Psalm 139:7-8). We never have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, or sit in the miry clay, or dwell in darkness alone. "When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me" (Micah 7:8). He has walked the road before us and He is with us even now in these moments. In Psalm 118, the psalmist took great comfort knowing the Lord was on his side. He said, "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me" (118:6-7). The presence of the Lord on his side meant freedom from fear. The presence of the Lord meant he had the help of the Lord. And the Lord's presence with him meant triumph in the face of his enemies. This is a precious boundary line for the believer. Whatever and wherever our suffering, the Lord is on our side. Truly, "The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance" (Psalm 16:8).

In "pastures green"? Not always; sometimes He

Who knowest best, in kindness leadeth me

In weary ways, where heavy shadows be.

So, whether on the hill-tops high and fair

I dwell, or in the sunless valleys, where

The shadows lie, what matter? He is there.

--Barry (quoted from Streams in the Desert)

Let's pray through Psalm 118 trusting the Lord and the boundaries He has set for our suffering.

His steadfast love endures forever

118:1-4 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

Lord, I pray:

▫️ Thank you, Lord, that Your steadfast love does place boundaries on my suffering. You are good, and You only do what is good. My hardship is hemmed by Your love and faithfulness to me as Your child. I know when it feels like the waves are crashing over me, Your strength will uphold me, and You will be a firm rock, upon which I may stand.

▫️ Lord, in the midst of the storm, You are speaking peace to my mind and heart, and You are orchestrating every seeming delay, setback, victory, opposition, step forward, everything in order to accomplish Your good purposes.

Out of my distress I called

118:5-9 Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.

Pause briefly to consider your own personal distress, your own significant suffering. Talk briefly to the Lord about the thoughts, feelings, and struggles that arise as you think on your suffering.

Lord, I pray:

▫️Out of my distress, I am calling to You. The psalmist testified that he called to You and You answered him and set him free. You have done that for me in times past, and I ask You to do it again. You know the suffering and the sin that I am battling. Work so powerfully on my behalf, that I feel free, delivered from my own, what feels like, bondage to sin. Unburden me from this load of affliction.

▫️One of the boundaries You have set is Your promise to never leave me or forsake me. Thank You that I am not walking through _______ alone. You are on my side. I am tempted to fear _______, but You are on my side as my helper. You will help me to be triumphant in this distress. You will help me to walk worthy of You, fully pleasing You.

▫️As I take refuge in You, give me gladness and rejoicing and let me ever sing for joy; Spread Your protection over me. Cover me with favor as with a shield. I love Your name and I will exult in You (Psalm 5:11-12).

The Lord helped me

118:10-13 All nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me.

Lord, I pray:

▫️These troubles truly do seem to surround me. On every side. It seems as though they are piling up, one after another. Help me, Lord! Give me Your sufficient grace and Your unfailing power to persevere and endure with joy. You can take care of these troubles that surround me. I come to You for help.

▫️This suffering does make me feel like I’ve been pushed hard and that I am falling. But. “A blessed but” (Spurgeon). But You helped me and You will continue to supply exactly what I need. Help me to rest in Your daily provision.

The Lord does valiantly

118:14-18 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, the right hand of the Lord exalts, the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!” I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death.

Lord, I pray:

▫️You are my strength and my song and my salvation. There are moments throughout my day when I feel very weak. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, help me to remember that Your power is perfected in weakness. I can actually be the most joyful when I am at my weakest because that is when Your strength will be most clearly seen. Fill my heart and mouth with glad songs.

▫️Your purposes in this suffering are for my holiness. This affliction feels like severe discipline. Suffering has revealed the sin that still remains so rooted in my heart. You know the best thing for me is to be conformed to the image of Christ and this suffering has shown me ways that my heart must be changed. Do the necessary work in me, I pray. I confess _______ that I have seen in myself during this trial.

This is the day the Lord has made

118:19-24 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Lord, I pray:

▫️I praise You that despite the sinfulness that remains in me that I continue to struggle with, especially in this distress, You have opened to me the gates of righteousness through the death and resurrection of Christ. He lived the perfect life of obedience I could not live. He paid the penalty for my sin that I could not pay. And in Him, I am clothed with His righteousness.

▫️I will rejoice and be glad because of the day of salvation that You ordained, the crushing of Your own Son, in order to save us. That day transforms all the rest of my days so that I can have joy and peace even in the midst of fiery trials. My salvation in Christ also gives me great hope for eternity and the glory that will far outweigh all my present sufferings (2 Corinthians 4:17).

He has made light to shine upon us

118:25-27 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!

Lord, I pray:

▫️Save me and give deliverance from ________. Give me success as I seek to honor You in these days.

▫️Make Your light to shine upon us. I need Your light. I need You.

I will give thanks

118:28-29 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”

Lord, I pray:

▫️You are my God, and I will give thanks to You. I thank You for _________. You are my God; I will extol You. I praise You because ____________. I will continue to give thanks to You as long as I live. For You are good and Your steadfast love endures forever!

May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Photo credit to sylwiabartyzel

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