He Remembers it All

“A Song of degrees. LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions:” (Ps 132:1 AV)

A very simple prayer.  A song of degrees was sung while ascending or descending the temple steps.  We don’t know who wrote this psalm but it is generally assumed that David wrote this about himself.  The psalm regards the affliction David had in his desire to build the temple.  He felt very strongly the ark of the covenant deserved a permanent resting place within the territory of Israel.  Up to the writing of this psalm, the ark of the covenant resided in a portable tent.  The tabernacle was the structure God provided for the ark as Israel journeyed through the wilderness and onto their promised inheritance.  Now that David gave rest to Israel round about, he desired a more permanent structure for the ark of the covenant.  This passion of David drove him.  He assembled all the materials and pre-fabbed the temple.  Solomon, his son, was the assembler of the temple and got the credit.  But it was David who did most of the work.  His afflictions stated above were his affliction felt because he wished to pay God the ultimate respect.  We can surely see the application here.  Yet, there are other afflictions we go through.  Some self-inflicted.  Others not so much.  We are born unto trouble.  When the psalmist asks the LORD to remember the afflictions of David, he uses the word ‘all’.  Not some or most.  But all.  It is this truth we wish to consider.

Staying in the hospital is no fun.  I have had a few of my own.  The most recent was for a heart issue.  Apparently, I have an odd condition of a periodically irregular heartbeat.  One of my valves does not close all the way.  This usually happens in the wintertime.  My heart flutters and beats strangely.  This causes fatigue.  Before diagnosis, we thought I was having a heart attack.  Off to the hospital, I went.  They hooked me up to all sorts of stuff and flooded me with several medications.  They admitted me for a night to watch and see what my heart would do. They put me in a room that was almost like an afterthought.  This room was all by itself.  It was through double doors and on the corner of two intersecting hallways.  My room was the only room in that area.  Two double doors to the right and left.  One to the front.  My room was in the strangest place.  The only other room in that intersecting hallway was a public restroom.  It was the strangest thing.  Being isolated as I was, one would think the nurses would ignore me.  Out of sight and out of mind.  It was almost as if they needed more patient rooms so they turned a closet into a room.  Lisa stayed with me in that room the whole night.  Even though I was isolated from the rest of the population, the nurses never forgot about me.  Throughout the night, nurses would check in to see if I needed anything.  They would check my blood pressure and sinus rhythm.  They would prop up my pillows.  They would ask how my pain was.  They would check my pulse.  If I had any complaints at all, they did their best to meet that need.  They remembered all my afflictions.

God is always there.  There are no afflictions which would come upon us that He wouldn’t know about and of which He would care a great deal.  All our afflictions matter to Him.  No matter how large or small, our Father is moved when we are hurting.  He does not minimize what we are going through.  As a father who is moved by the hardship of his child, even though he knows everything will be all right, dad is still moved by the pain that his child suffers from.  When we pray the prayer above, God does indeed answer.  He is moved.  He does remember.  Whether we stubbed our toe or lay in a hospital bed, the LORD sees it all and is moved by it all.  We have a comfort that no matter how difficult life gets, He cares and intercedes for us.  He is right there with us as we go through the afflictions of life.  He carries us when we cannot go a step further.  He strengthens us so that by His might, we can go through the valley.  He sustains us that by His grace, we will endure.  He remembers them all.  Each and every affliction.  He is not so big of a God that He considers our afflictions as minor.  If they afflict us, they move Him.  What a truth of encouragement.