The God Who Understands

Psalms 77:4-9 NLT

“You don’t let me sleep. I am too distressed even to pray! I think of the good old days, long since ended, when my nights were filled with joyful songs. I search my soul and ponder the difference now. Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me? Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion?”

One of the things I love about the Bible, and particularly the Book of Psalms, is that it frees us to be human. It frees us to be vulnerable before God. It frees us to grieve and be weak in the arms of our Father. It’s okay to feel what we feel. It’s okay to not have it all together.

There comes a point in our struggles in this life where we simply have to let God love us. Where we simply have to let God carry us and allow that to be enough. It’s these moments of sorrow that we spend with God that are the most meaningful and impactful in our lives. It’s these moments where we get to witness God’s grace toward us in the most tender and compassionate way. 

Jesus himself was no stranger to suffering or anguish. Scripture says, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isa. 53:3 ESV). Being a man of sorrows, Jesus was vulnerable before his Father and “offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears” (Heb. 5:7). 

If Jesus was weak before his Father, how much more does that allow us to be weak in our own times of distress. Jesus taught us how to be human. As a result of his prayers, he was heard by his Father (Heb. 5:7). This should fill us with hope. The Father did not leave Jesus in the grave. And neither will he leave you in your pit of despair.

As such, it is important that we remember the faithfulness of God. Continuing the flow of thought in Psalm 77, the psalmist writes: “But then I recall all you have done, O Lord ; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works” (vs. 11-12 NLT). In our time of difficulty, we can take time to remember the works God has done throughout the Bible, throughout history, and throughout our own lives. It doesn’t take away the pain of the moment, but it does begin to heal us and build our hope in God. 

If you are in a difficult situation right now, I want to encourage you that you are loved. I want to encourage you that you are worth it. No one knows, understands, and cherishes you like God does. Many people have misused the name of God, and as such, have painted him in a bad light. I encourage you to let go of that false image of God as cruel and merciless. Instead, I want you to look at God in the face of Jesus. Remember the sorrow, the beatings, the rejection, and the crucifixion he endured so you could be with him. That is your God. 

I pray that you would receive him now, even while you go through the unimaginable. In Jesus' name.