August 11, 2017

Psalm 10: 1, 17-18 (NLT)

1: O Lord, why do you stand so far away?
Why do you hide when I am in trouble?
17-18: Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.
Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.
You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,
so mere people can no longer terrify them.

This sounds very familiar when compared to my last post, but there's a HUGE, really big difference. Did you catch it? My last post began with absolute, complete praise to the Lord. Now, however, David is crying out to God.

David is human. One thing I love about the Psalms is his total honesty. When his heart is full of praise, it shows in his writing. When he has questions, doubts, anger, hurt, etc, he lets is all out. He hides nothing from the Lord. And why should he? Why should we? God knows our hearts. He knows.
 
And He doesn't condemn us, just like He doesn't condemn David here. Whatever is happening in David's life at this point, he feels like God isn't there for him. Like God is far away. Like the Lord is hiding from him. David feels like he's in a divine game of hide and seek and he's on the losing end.
And we all, being the humans that we are, have all felt that way before. Maybe you're feeling that way right now. You feel like God hasn't forgotten all about you. You may be a sparrow but His Eye is definitely not on YOU!

Oh, I've been there. I remember the hymns and songs that carry me through. In all honesty, when I feel far from God, I sing the songs of my faith and they speak to my soul and soothe me. I feel God through music even when that's the only way I feel His Presence.

God hasn't forgotten you in those dark places. He cannot "forget" us. That's not His nature. We will never understand His ways and thoughts...not on this side anyway. He makes that clear in His Word. But we're not called to understand them. We're called to trust them.

When you feel forgotten, remember God's at work even when you don't see it. He hasn't forgotten you or thrown you away. No! He is working His mysterious ways in your life and is actually holding you in the palm of His hand and under His Eagle's Wing. That's the HOPE and that's the promise.

Read the entire Psalm. David lists all that's bothering him at this time and when he gets to the end...well...he's relying on God to know the hopes of the helpless and to hear their cries and comfort them. David comes back to God.

Hear David's heart, hear his hope...even when life feels hopeless and you feel helpless. Rely on God to carry you through it all. Have HOPE!

Be blessed with an attitude of hope. And share it with others. So many are feeling hopeless right now. Maybe you aren't, but you've probably been there, and if you've never, ever felt hopeless...well...hold on...you just might feel that way one day and you'll understand. Even people with great faith, like me, can feel hopeless and helpless from time to time.

Hope. Live it. Share it. Amen and Amen!