Trusting God in Joy and Sorrow

I’ve been exploring the Psalms lately, and I’m seeing how David (who wrote many of these songs) calls out to God from just about every spot along the spectrum of human emotion.  He shouts with joy and wails in grief—and everything in between.  Let me point to a few examples and then ask:  Does your faith take this range of expressions?

• Psalm 6:  David is languishing; he floods his bed with tears, crying to God, “How long?”  Yet he hopes in God’s future deliverance.
• Psalm 13:  David’s heart is writhing in sorrow; it feels like God has forgotten him.  And yet, in the end, he sings to God with joy.
• Psalm 16:  He cries out for help to the Lord his refuge; in the presence of God is fullness of joy.
• Psalm 22:  David feels forsaken by God; he calls out, but there is no answer.  But he still has hope:  the afflicted shall be satisfied, and shall praise the Lord.
• Psalm 23:  He is at rest in the care of the Good Shepherd—and yet this doesn’t remove dark valleys or the threat of enemies.
• Psalm 69:  David is sinking, drowning, weeping, and waiting—but he also knows, deep down, that God’s steadfast love is good, even in the dark day:  “Let heaven and earth praise him.”

Authentic, maturing faith in God trusts him with all of life—is that the case for you?  We’re tempted to credit God with the pleasant things but then throw up our hands in dismay when life falls apart, as if we’re supposed to be beyond the reach of affliction (yet see 1 Peter 4:12).

But the witness of the Psalms, and all of Scripture, is that real faith learns to rest in God’s arms despite our pain and loss and uncertainty.  If you’re waiting for the bumps on life’s road to go away before thank­ing God and trusting his care, your wait will never end!  Let David’s wide-ranging expressions encourage you today:  weeping-faith, pleading-faith, silent-faith, groaning-faith, resting-faith, praising faith, etc.

Faith is for all circumstances; it’s for the delay as much as for when the wait is over; it’s for honest grief, humble confession, and grateful awe and worship—whether we worship with laughter or tears.  Do you trust God for all of life, even the unresolved trials you face now?