Of all the questions people ask, one of the most frequent is “Where is God when it hurts?” That is put in different way, like “Why do Christ-followers suffer?? or “Why does God feel so far away when I’m going through a tough time?” I’m sure you could add your own variation to that. This morning as I was reading Psalm 13, I flashed back to the first time I ever looked at this psalm in depth. I was in a period of deep questioning-not when it came to where was God- but in my own life’s purpose. It was, and has been, one of the most eye-opening experiences I ever had. I’d like to share that with you today. I’d like to suggest a Bible and a highlighter (different colors) as you study.
The chapter is written by King David. {Following Scripture is from the NLT}
If God truly forgot David as he says in verse 1a: “O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?”
Why does he say at the same time that God truly loves him unceasingly in verse 5a: “But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me”?
David also says in verse 1 that God hid his face from him: “How long will you look the other way?”
But in verse 6b he says God was good to him: “Because he is good to me.”
In verse 2 David said he struggled (wrestled) with many thoughts and had sorrow in his heart every day: “How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart everyday?”
Yet in verse 6 he sang with joy: “I will sing to the Lord.”
Finally, in verse 2b David said his enemy had the upper hand: “How long will my enemy have the upper hand?”
Yet in verse 5b he says, “I will rejoice because have rescued me.”
How can that be? Is there a discrepancy between the verses? No, actually there isn’t. The difference is between David’s feelings and David’s beliefs. David felt God had hidden His face from him, but he believed God’s love for Him was unceasing. David felt God had hidden His face from him, but he believed God was somehow good to him.
The same is often true for us. There is a disconnect between our feelings and our faith. And there you have just one more reason why we should not trust our feelings over our faith. And it is also one more reason why we should not get trapped into thinking “just follow your heart.” Feelings are deceptive.
Follow your faith, not your feelings. Anchor yourself in God’s Word; don’t rely on your feelings.
{Note: my unfailing thanks to Randall Arthur and his book Wisdom Hunter for the insight into this passage. It forever changed my life}
At our Sunday night home group we talked about times when, like David, we have struggled in our relationship with God. ALL of us admitted we have prayed with the man who said. “I believe, Lord! Help my unbelief!” The Bible is full of real people who fought the same spiritual battles we fight today. Goo knew we needed those examples of how to get through those times.
Absolutely agree Pam. I am glad that God has given us examples of those who struggle with what we struggle with and serve as examples for us on how to handle them.
Faith, not feelings . . . You have explained this perfectly here, Bill. Our feelings are not to be trusted, but we can ever and always trust in God, His words and His promises.
Blessings!
Thanks Martha. Being an emotional person, I have to guard against this. I HAVE to ground myself in God’s Word.
I think the key to understanding David’s Psalms, or Paul when he wrote Philippians 4:11-13, is that they understood that it was never all about them, that it was all about God. No, they did not enjoy the amount of suffering that they had to endure, but they did remember that God’s promises were always true. They understood that the bigger picture was about God’s kingdom. Even though some things made no sense, and were hard to fight through, they held onto a unshakable faith that would be rewarded at the end. Father may we all learn to have that same faith, keep our eyes on the only true and wise God, Who has all the plans in His hands.
Excellent points Gail. And your prayer is important.