“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?”- Psalm 13:1
Dr. Wayne Stiles continues Chapter 2 of Waiting on God by noting that the psalmist’s question sounds almost heretical- except it came from King David. Furthermore, Dr. Stiles stresses, “this is how David felt, but it isn’t what he believed.”
We often feel this way as well. We experience the tension of putting our faith in front of our feelings. Like Jacob, Joseph, and David, we struggle to reconcile reality with truth. As a result, Wayne explains, we feel spiritually dysfunctional waiting on God:
“Waiting on God feels like living a dysfunctional spiritual life. . . . Because we have promises from God he seems to have forgotten, we feel like we’re losers in a waiting game played with One who has infinite patience. But waiting on God is not dysfunctional. It is normal.”
When we refuse to reconcile reality with truth, we shift our focus to how the Christian life “ought” to be. Although we physically hear the whole truth of God, listening to the “disagreeable” parts becomes an entirely different issue. Selective hearing reigns. However, Dr. Stiles emphasizes, the tough parts of the Christian life list as required courses, not electives.
Dr. Stiles encourages that God wants to give us so much more than answers to third-grade questions. Sometimes God demonstrates His great love for us by saying no to our requests, as the author explains:
“He sees the blind spots in our character- those areas we don’t even know to pray for. So he shapes our situation to unearth the defects burned deeply beneath the layers of immature jealousies, lusts, and longings for relief.”
To experience God’s faithfulness through the cross, we must become free of our fear of that cross. Our personal cross bridges the gap between the God we want and the God who is. Every day we must take up our cross and follow Christ (Matthew 16:24).
Today’s question: In what ways has expressing King David’s words- “How long, O Lord?”- enabled you to reconcile reality with truth? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Compulsory journeys”
