Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; incline Your ear to me; in the day that I call, answer me speedily. (Psalm 102:2)
I think it is fair to say that most of us, at some point or another, have had days — or even seasons — when our suffering was so crushing that we felt as if we were about to die. It can get so bad that some might be tempted to give up on God and the way of life He’s called us to, simply because it is so difficult. In times like this, I’ve pleaded with God to just let me know He was watching and that He cared. I didn’t necessarily ask Him to deliver me from the situation (although many times I have) but simply reveal His Presence in such a way that I would know He was with me, which would give me a ray of hope and a reason to keep going.
If you’ve never been in that kind of scenario, I tip my hat to you and stand in awe of your great spirituality and commitment to endure hardship. But somehow or another I believe that most of you reading this know exactly what I’m talking about. In short, we are human. Being human, we are weak and inclined to despair when when we feel that God isn’t around. Just knowing that He listens to our cries and cares about our problems is enough, at times, to encourage us to soldier on. As I read these words penned by David, it occurs to me that this was the essence of his prayer: “Don’t hide from me; please answer me so that I’ll know you are still there.”
The reality, of course, is that He is there and always has been. We are promised that He will never leave or forsake us, but that doesn’t mean He won’t allow us to walk through very difficult situations without immediate deliverance. To the contrary, there is plenty of Scripture to support the idea that He leads us into these difficulties to see how we will handle them. As it is written, “the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not” (Deuteronomy 8:2).
And so it is with us: He allows us to be touched with trouble in order to test us and see how we will respond to the hardship. David responded with a prayer that said, “Just let me know You are still there and that will be enough.” Likewise, just knowing He is still guiding us by the hand, even though it is an invisible hand at times, is sufficient encouragement to continue on the journey. As it is written, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you … when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isaiah 43:2-3)
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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