Feeling lonely is not an excuse for despair.
It hit me like a ton of bricks the other day. I think I've tried to dodge that pile (of bricks) quite a number of times in the past, because it's not anything newfangled. This is the truth: None of my feelings - legitimate as they are in and of themselves - legitimize despair and unbelief.
Our feelings can be so real sometimes - the sense of alienation, fear, or hopelessness can weigh on us oppressively. In some of those moments, I barely have the strength to search for hope and truth.
Not everyone is inclined this way, I realize. But I know that I need help to see the truth when my heart is clouded over. I struggle to remember the objective truth of the gospel when my subjective experience bids me believe otherwise. Though the enemy may feel like a tyrant, he does not rule superlatively. I must remember that my God is sovereign - that my times are in His hands (Ps. 31:15).
I love the turn that Psalm 31 takes. After he tells us about his adversaries who scheme against him to take his life, David says,
But I trust in you, O Lord. I say, "You are my God" (v. 14).
"Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1)
"And without faith, it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." (Heb. 11:6)
"And without faith, it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." (Heb. 11:6)
4 comments:
Great post! I find myself in moments like this not even realizing that I'm struggling with whether or not I believe. I think the idea of belief is so ingrained in my Christian rhetoric that I forget that it's not only a statement but a worldview that should shape how I'm living. Thanks for your insight.
What a great realization! God's so good to remind us of the things we really ought to know by now...
I had a moment like this over the weekend, which I was telling Josh about yesterday. I was driving back to Peoria and half-praying, half-thinking about a lot of untruth that's been rolling around my mind for a while, and all of a sudden Eph 6:16 popped into my mind: "In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one." And I exclaimed out loud in the car (probably four or five times) "The shield of faith!" Sometimes I think I can't choose to believe God's promises; if my soul is feeling downcast, that's just how it's going to be until God makes me believe truth. But (glory to God!) we can (by the Spirit) CHOOSE to take up faith and battle unbelief and lies, even if our feelings aren't aligning! What a gift!
Thanks for letting me read this...
as I read that first statement I thought to myself, where did i hear that? a sermon? class? but then i realized, no, it was lisa chu :)
i love this psalm 31 tie in though. thanks for sharing it with us!
Trust and the articulation of that trust.
It's almost like saying Mark 9:24 outloud,
I believe! Help me
in my unbelief!
I know this is a bit dated of a comment, but as you have said yourself in this post, trust and its proclamation is a continual, present thing. All the more the needed now. And now. And even now.
Thanks for this. Certainly worth chewing on. (And ending with a preposition.)
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