A Sign of Faith

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
^2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.

Psalm 22:1-2

So many folks come to me after a rough time and repent of the way they prayed as they journeyed through the hardship. Psalm 22 is one of my favorite chapters to share with them.

I’m not sure where we get the idea we can’t complain to God. Many of David’s Psalms include phrases of lament, and Jesus used this poem of David as he hung on the cross. In fact, though we have no idea the deep distress David experienced when he wrote this Psalm, we know God inspired it because it gives details about the passion no one could have known eight hundred years before the event.

Some feel guilty when their prayers turn to lament, yet God used David’s dark prayers as a message of prophecy. How can they be wrong?

I believe these honest prayers show signs of great faith. Could you really feel God had forsaken you unless you believed the Almighty was normally close? Why would you cry out to a god you had no faith in? David didn’t quit believing. Jesus didn’t doubt His heavenly Father; however, both felt weak. Both humans needed their Creator, and Psalm 22 offers their admission of this truth.

Unless you’re whining like the Israelites did in Exodus and Leviticus, you aren’t dissing God with your cries. It’s true, you shouldn’t complain you’re a little thirsty six days after you watched the Red Sea part. We don’t want to allow our hearts to wander back into Egypt. That was the plight of Israel in the desert. It wasn’t the complaining that was the problem, it was the location of their heart. They honestly believed life in slavery was better than a few months of gathering food and living in tents on their way to the Promised Land.

So, don’t allow other humans to convince you to stop being honest with God. When they try to tell you true followers of Christ don’t ever tell God they are tired of the path and afraid of the future, remind them of David’s lament and Jesus’ cry from the cross.

God didn’t promise this life would be easy. He didn’t promise the Israelites a skate in the park after they left Egypt. He did promise to never leave us or forsake us. It may feel like God is far away, but He’s really right there. He hears. Cry out to Him, let Him know how you feel. He may let you walk further through the bleak tunnel, but even when it’s too dark to see Him, He’s there. You’ll realize it on the other side.

If you’re going through a dark time, I have a book of devotions you’ll enjoy.
Stand Strong in the Storm

It’s always 99 cents.

And if you can use some extra prayer, shoot me an e-mail. I’d be happy to pray.