GOD’S COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT (Psalm 142)

Did you know that God has a complaint department? It’s true.

Typically, we say that complaining is wrong and we should avoid it. I would agree with that, but there are occasions when difficulties have to be addressed. For example, sometimes you have to go into a place of business and register a complaint that is legitimate and will be helpful and constructive. The same is true with the Lord.

Psalm 142 was written by David. Interestingly enough, there is a title over this psalm that tells us something about the context: “A prayer when he was in the cave.”

I don’t know about you, but when I think of David, I think of him on the throne wearing the crown, with the scepter in his hands. That was not the case at all when he wrote Psalm 142. He was running for his life.

This is the prayer of a man who was totally overwhelmed by his circumstances. In fact, he wrote specifically in verse 3, “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me.”

Are you overwhelmed today? Have circumstances overtaken you? Are you overcome with emotion, feeling as though you are drowning in it?

You are not the only one. In fact, the man after God’s own heart was there as well. Look what David did with his complaint:

Verses 1-2: “I cried unto the Lord with my voice; with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication. I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.”

To Whom to Give the Complaint

My pastor has said, “If you have a complaint, speak only to the person who has the power to do something about it.” But we usually prefer to tell everyone who will listen to us.

David was such a spiritual man that he understood it would do no good to talk to the men around him about his problems. Instead of bemoaning his situation to everyone else, he “poured out his complaint” to the Lord.

What an interesting choice of words. It was as if it were liquid and overflowing, making him want to pour it out.

Maybe today you feel as weak as water, completely full and overflowing with complaints. I would encourage you to take it to the Lord in prayer. As the classic hymn tells us:

I must tell Jesus

All of my trials

I cannot bear these burdens alone

Why We Take our Complaints to Him

Verses 3-6: “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.”

There are several reasons listed here why we must give our complaints to God alone:

1. You Cannot Handle It on Your Own

(Verse 3) No matter how strong you think you are, there will be moments in life when there is nothing you can do but turn to God.

Abraham Lincoln said about his presidency that there were many times he was driven to his knees because he had nowhere else to go. There are desperate moments in life when we are emotionally spent and physically exhausted. We even feel spiritually depleted. That is when we must give it to God.

2. No One Else Can Help You

(Verse 4) You may feel today as David did, thinking that no man or woman cares for you. I am sure there is a person alive who loves and cares for you, but even if that hyperbole were a reality, there is a God in Heaven who loves you with an everlasting love.

There will be moments in life when God knocks out all of the crutches. Every person you lean on will be gone either because they are unavailable or have disappointed you in some way. It will happen. God does this so that it leaves only you and Him, and you learn to lean on Him alone.

3. The Enemy is Stronger than You Are

(Verse 6) You must understand that you are no match for the devil, your discouragement, and all of the things you are fighting. Your determination alone will not get you through this battle. You need the Lord.

4. God is More than Enough

(Verse 5) The Psalmist thought at one point that he was in the land of the dying, but he realized that God was going to let him live and would provide for him and protect him. God takes care of His own.

God is greater than me and any person I can lean on. He is also greater than my enemy. Bring your complaint to Him.

Look What God Does

Ultimately, we need to know when we come to His complaint department. Verse 7: “Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.”

We know that David did not remain in the cave. Eventually, he returned to the city and to the throne. God answered his prayer.

Notice that verse 7 did not refer to David’s body being rescued, but his soul. You might physically remain in your circumstances, but God can deliver your heart and mind from despair. Aren’t you glad for that?

God turns the complaints into praises. You may have been in a situation with a merchant or service provider where your complaint was dealt with so thoroughly and kindly that you turned around and complimented them. That is what God always does. He will be so kind and thorough with you that you will no longer be complaining. Instead, you will be praising His holy name.

Come to God’s complaint department. I promise that you will not be disappointed.