Asked and Answered
Asked and Answered
Lord, why do You stand so far away? Why do You hide in times of trouble? (Ps. 10:1)
Where’s God When You Need Him?
The men who wrote the psalms showed the broad range of human emotion, and they often asked the same agonized questions we all sometimes ask—like in today’s verse, as if feeling stranded by God on a deserted island right as a hurricane is barreling down on us.
The psalms give us permission to voice our worst fears to God—even our fears about Him. It is OK to tell God what you are feeling, even if it is flat-out wrong. He already knows what you’re thinking anyway, so pray those thoughts to Him. He can take it.
Holding On to Promises
But while it is OK and even important to voice our feelings, it is even more critical to voice back to God His promises. Because the truth is that God does not leave us, has never left us, and will never leave us. The Bible says this in many ways and in multiple places. Hebrews 13:5 assures us, “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’”
Our faith must rest on the unshakable promises of God, not on the fickleness of our feelings or the limitations of our understanding. When we hold on to God’s promises and let His Word trump our fears, we are developing the kind of faith that makes angels stand up and cheer, the kind that gives us a freedom and confidence from out of this world.
Bottom Line
When your emotions tell you God has abandoned you, it’s time to quote back to God His promise never to forsake you. That is faith in action.