Psalm 10: Far Away

Have you ever wavered between two opinions? Have you ever been sure of something in one moment and then found yourself doubting it in the next? If you have then you have found yourself to be . . . human. We’ve all heard James 1:8 quoted, we know that “a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways”. In fact, most of us don’t just know the verse, we are afraid of it, we border on being ashamed because of it, because in our lives too often, we discover that we are double-minded. I don’t believe James’ statement was meant to be a judgment against us, but rather a warning, even an announcement to recognize when we are living from both sides of our heart and to choose faith, even when all we can feel is fear. 

Many believe that Psalm 9 and 10 were once one Psalm that was divided along the way. I’m not going to deal with the scholarship of that idea today, but I will say that the Psalms certainly give us an interesting picture when they are paired together. In Psalm 9:10, David wrote, during his betrayal and affliction, “you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.” Then in the first verse of Psalm 10, the Psalmist (David is only attributed if you believe the Psalms were once joined) writes, “Why, O LORD, do you stand far away?” When we hear words like this most of us are tempted to become Job’s friends, faithfully present until we hear something that makes us uncomfortable and then we feel obligated to speak. The Scriptures tell us that after the death of Job’s children and the loss of his wealth, that his friends came. They saw him from a distance and wept at the sight of their friend’s brokenness, they tore their robes to join him in his mourning and they sat with him in silence for seven days because “they saw that his suffering was very great.” Job then turned his grief into words, he began to say the things that he felt, to release the pain of his heart through the sound of his voice. It’s interesting, Job’s friends sat with him when they saw his suffering, but when they heard it, they felt that they had to answer. They felt it was their job to protect God from the words of grief coming from Job’s heart, they felt they needed to protect Job from the judgment that might fall on his head, they also felt they needed to protect themselves from association with anything that sounded like it might be wrong. 

Aren’t there times when you know God doesn’t forsake us, but then feel like He’s far away? Haven’t we all had moments, sometimes seasons of our lives, when we know that God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear and yet we are completely afraid? Are you like me and you’ve told yourself to “be anxious for nothing” and yet all you can feel is anxiety? What are we supposed to make of these statements that seem to contradict our feelings, more importantly, what are we supposed to do with these statements when they are being contradicted by our feelings? Too often we have believed that something was wrong with us, that we were the problem when quoting the commands of God don’t seem to be manifesting in the reality of our lives. But what if these aren’t commands at all, what if they are all promises, what if they are encouragements, what if these beautiful words were meant for the times that they feel the least true? 

It’s been said that the Bible says, 365 times, in some way or another, “Do not be afraid”. I’m not sure that the number is accurate, but I do know this, the Bible tells us not to be afraid a lot. When do you tell someone not to be afraid? When they are facing something scary. What if “Fear not” is not a command to never be afraid but rather an encouragement to endure when fear comes? What if “be anxious for nothing” is a reminder to our hearts when all we can feel is anxiety throughout our bodies? What if “I will never leave you nor forsake you” is a promise for when we feel alone and forsaken? What if the promises of God aren’t being contradicted by our feelings, what if God gave those promises as weapons to overcome those feelings? 

Sometimes we need to put words to our feelings. Sometimes we need to unburden our hearts. Sometimes we need to tell the truth of how we feel even if we know it’s not the truth at all. Job said things I hope I never say, but that’s mostly because Job endured a level of grief I hope to never face. He said the things he felt even though those things weren’t true and while his friends were trying to correct him, God was listening to him and then God came and met him. Job said later that he spoke of things that he didn’t understand, so do I, you probably do as well. In the end, Job’s conclusion was that in the past, before his trials he had heard of God, but now, through his trials, through his grief, through his words, he had now seen God. His grief-filled words had not pushed God away, they had pulled God closer and then the closeness of God had undone every lie that his hurt had made him feel. What if the Psalmist was sure that God would not forsake him and yet he felt like God was far away? What should he have done with that? Should he have kept quiet and hoped for the feelings to pass? Should he have kept quoting the truth to himself and try to pretend to believe it? Was he simply following the example of Job, and speaking the truth of his heart so that he could be healed by the truth of God’s? Today, I can tell you that God is not far away, but I’m not sure that will do the good that you need to have done. So, if you feel like God is distant, like his love has forsaken you, like his ear has gone deaf to your prayers and His Word has stopped visiting your heart, tell Him. He won’t be offended, and you won’t be abandoned. I believe that He will come to you just as He came to Job. He may not answer all your questions, but He will settle your heart and you will learn like Job did, that no matter how alone we feel, the truth is, we have never been forsaken.

Comments

Popular Posts