Handling Difficult Times

“How long, O LORD?  Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?  How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? 
How long will my enemy triumph over me?  Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.  Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, ‘I have overcome him,’ and my foes will rejoice when I fall.  But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.  I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me. (Psalm 13:1-6 NIV)

David often felt overwhelmed by his circumstances.  He had many enemies and his life was frequently in danger.  That kind of stress can wear on a person.  Light can quickly turn to darkness, hope into despair.  
We all long for a life that is easy and free of stress and hardship, and sometimes we tie our faith to the ease of our circumstances.  When things are going well, we are excited about God, but when things are going badly, we struggle.

David provides the perfect example of how to hold onto our faith when life is dishing out a major helping of stress or hardship.  When he felt overwhelmed, he expressed his feelings to God.  He poured out his frustration, his fear, and his anger.  He did not hold back.  He knew God was big enough to handle his emotions.  Having done that, then we see his heart and mind shift intentionally back to giving his situation over to the Lord.  

Sometimes, we need a safe place to vent.  Things build up and we need to express them.  David demonstrates for us that we can do this with God.  He's not going to cut us off by saying, "How dare you talk to me that way!"  But David doesn’t just vent and then walk away.  He says, in essence, “Okay God.  I have expressed how I feel, but I still love you and trust you in whatever happens, and I rejoice that you have given me new life and have been so good to me.”  

Life will often be difficult and frustrating, and we can learn a great deal from David on how to handle it.  Today, know that if you are unhappy with the way life is going, you can express that to the Lord.  He is big enough to handle it!  But then, as David did, you can continue to love and trust Him because of who He is and what He has done in your life.

© Jim Musser 2017