My faith is battered, bruised, and bloodied today. I openly confess that there is part of me that wonders if God went on vacation, decided He didn’t want to be around me, or just enjoys playing with me. Suffering that I live with each day, that is personal and often breath-takingly intense, (my mother is gravely ill and lives with us) the disappointment in plans that have not returned the expected results, and prayers that seem only to echo in the room have brought on spiritual fatigue. Over the last day, I often find myself singing a verse from the hymn, O Worship the King, as my prayer. “Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail; in Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail. Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end. Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.” That is my confession.
Maturity helps to avoid the pit of self-pity and the temptation to seek temporary relief in self-indulgence. And, too, I know that I am not the first, nor the only, to know this kind of testing. There are several Psalms where we godly people speak from a place in the dark night of their soul! "O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day?" (Psalm 13:1-2, NLT) In another psalm of lament, we read: "O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble?" (Psalm 10:1, NLT) Those passages comfort me, helping me to know that my Abba understands and that my fatigue is no sin in His eyes.
In some seasons of life, when circumstances obscure the plans or purposes of the Father, we can only wait and trust. The saint with a battered faith of whom we read in Psalm 73 said that he looked around at those who did not fear God and found himself full of envy, doubting God, wondering at the unfairness of it all until "I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood … Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever." (Psalm 73:17, 25-26, NLT)
When we are hurting, when our emotions scream for relief, when our vision narrows down to "right here, right now" -- we must simply trust, wait, and hope for the embrace of grace. To try to force it to make sense, to try to find the reason why, will make us hurt worse.
Do you know someone who is in crisis, with a broken heart or a world turned upside down by some storm? Hold the criticism! Please do not engage in superficial god-talk! Give him your ear and your shoulder! Breath a silent prayer for his courage and renewal. One of my favorite phrases is- "Be Jesus with skin on." Jesus was not remote. He wept! A touch, a hug, a prayer for comfort, and saying "I'll have faith for you right now while you're hurting so badly," will bless that one much more than a sermon about the unchanging faithfulness of God.
Giving that person a safe and loving place to vent to anger, to express fear or doubt often has a spiritual benefit. When the inner tension breaks the Holy Spirit can flood into their heart and mind with renewed peace. In time, their tumbling thoughts will find order and be shaped, once more, by the truth of the Scripture. Yes, it is true that a person in a faith crisis because of his own willful disobedience to the Lord needs a wisely worded, courageous rebuke, but ‘speaking the truth in love’ is a gift that a thoughtful friend offers only at the Spirit’s impulse.
Here's a word from the Word from the 73rd Psalm to which I alluded a moment ago. Know it. Sooner or later, you will need it, too.
"Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. . . .
When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
"Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. . . .
When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds." (Psalm 73, NIV)
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You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds." (Psalm 73, NIV)
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O worship the King,
All glorious above,
And gratefully sing
His power and His love:
Our Shield and Defender,
The Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor,
And girded with praise.
Frail children of dust,
And feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust,
Nor find Thee to fail.
Thy mercies how tender!
How firm to the end!
Our Maker, Defender,
Redeemer, and Friend!
O Worship The King
Kethe, William / Haydn, Johann Michael / Grant, Robert / Gardiner, William
© Public Domain
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