Loving God from the Heart IV

When we read the Psalms, we are suprised at the honesty of his relationship with God. When he is glad and thankful, he makes it known. When he is mad, confused and full of doubt, he also sings how he feels in the Psalms. We, on the other hand, are often afraid to approach God just as we are, with our warts and all, our doubts and all, our anger and all. Yet, we know that no dishonest relationship can grow or deepen. Today's Psalms actually are two parts of a singular piece. They represent the Psalmist's attempt to hold on to his hope and his relationship with God during the times when God seems a million miles away. I have personally taken great strength and comfort from this reading at different times in my life.

Psalm 42-43

The book of Psalms is actually a set of five books, and Psalm 42-43 begins the second book. Part of what we read here is in the form of a lament and the authors of these Psalms are the the Korahites, sometimes called the sons of Korah. The repeated chorus (42:5,11 and 43:5) sings, "Why are you cast down O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my help and my God." It is both an expression of honest disappointment and honest faith at the same time.

The lament begins with the words that many of us learned from Marty Nystrom's chorus (he and I sang together at Oral Roberts University), "As the Deer Pants." These verses remind me of Jesus' beatitude, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." The only thing I would add to that is the word "eventually." We want God to act on our behalf instantly, but often God makes us wait and allow us to hunger and thirst. The beginning of another Korahite hymn, Psalm 84:2 sings, "My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God." But our developed love for God and even the experience of joy in difficult times often means learning to wait on God's time.

The Psalmist's honesty requires that he have his own pity party (what my friend Eddie Rivera calls a "pity fiesta"). In 42:4, he remembers happier days when he was leading the people in triumphant joy. In verse 9, he feels that God has forgotten him. His critics ask him, "Where is your God now?" But some of those critics are voices within himself. I really like this Psalm for its genuineness. There are times when you just can't positive think your way out of problems and where doubts are real. Rather than pretending things are different, God invites us to express the way things really seem to us. And I have yet to be struck by lightning for telling God my doubts or how disappointed I am that He has not acted sooner or differently. Christian hope is not putting our heads in the sand. It is choosing to hope even in the most difficult of circumstances because God is able to bring us through...eventually.

In 43:3-4, the Psalmist calls for God to send his light. Another chorus comes to mind with these verses, "Shine, Jesus, Shine." In the midst of our darkness and confusion, sometimes all we need is a little light, and the light of the world brings it our way...eventually. In the meantime, we wait and we hope and when we look back we see that God does come through in ways beyond what we ever dreamed.

Have a great day and always know there is a reason to hope in the LORD.