Psalm 10:14 ~ To you the helpless commits himself . . .
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Recently, I attended a seminar on prayer. The speaker was Paul Miller, author of A Praying Life. Throughout the seminar, attendees took notes as he spoke about struggles Christians face in their prayer lives: being distracted, feeling weighed down by sin, or feeling a lack of faith that prayer does much of anything. I enjoyed the entire thing. But, the highlight for me came at the end of the seminar. Throughout the seminar, but particularly at the end, Paul spoke of the importance of the "real God" meeting the "real you." In other words, be honest in your prayers to God. Don't put up a front. Don't be pious. Just be real.
He told us to look up Psalms, particularly Psalms of lament -- and to write our own laments -- to God.
We took 10 minutes to do this, and at the end, he asked the audience how they experienced this.
One man said, and I echo his sentiments: "As I wrote about how hard life has been for me, the more God was reminding me of his faithfulness."
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I've been processing through some significant trials in my life, of which there are no (are there ever?) easy answers. I am regularly forced to my knees in prayer about these things.
Thank God that I do not anguish over pain by myself. But, in moments of despair, it is easier to miss God completely and to focus solely on pain -- with no end in sight.
I read Psalm 10 recently and cried out to God. It was hard to process through things, but in the end, I came out thankful and praising God for His kindness to me. He lifted my despair, He heard my prayers, and He gave me a sense of hope!
As I've struggled with depression at different points in my life, I have been comforted by God's Word countless times. But, there is an immature part of me that thinks that pain will lessen over time, or that I'll eventually stop struggling with pain altogether.
Not so much!
What I don't like about pain is that feeling I get of "helplessness". But, being helpless, I'm learning -- literally learning this week -- is the best, safest place to be!
What the Lord showed me is that even if there are thorns in my life, He gives grace with thorns. Grace to endure. Grace to persevere. Grace to cry out to God. The pain may never be eliminated on this side of Heaven, but having Grace to cry out to God, and to know His presence, is enough.
