faith over feelings

I cry to you, O LORD;

I say, “You are my refuge,

my portion in the land of the living.”

Psalm 142:5

This is a song that David wrote while hiding alone in a cold, dark cave, This probably occurred in the days when Saul was hunting him down to kill him. He cried out to God. David complained to God. He told his trouble to God (vs 1-2). And David felt horrible. His spirit felt weak (vs 3). He felt unseen and alone (vs 4). He felt like nobody cared (vs 4). He was being actively persecuted (vs 6). His enemies were stronger than he was (vs 7). You might label David as depressed in the common therapeutic vernacular.

As bad as David truly felt, he still fought mightily to hold on to faith. He instinctively cried out to God (vs1). He knew God’s mercy would be what he needed (vs 1). The troubles and complaints poured out TO God and not AGAINST God. Faith can honestly tell God the rough stuff. God can handle our unprocessed raw emotion. David believed God knew his situation (vs 3). He knew God cared (vs 4). He cried out in faith that God was his solution and his salvation (vs 5). He prayed in faith, requests for deliverance (vs 6-7a). He envisioned by faith a time when he would not be alone and afraid, but instead, surrounded by righteous people in an experience of God’s lavish grace (vs 7b). Faith was tenacious despite the hard feelings.

Lord knows all of us have times where difficult feelings come in overwhelming circumstances. And scripture calls us to believe God. We believe God AND we hurt. We believe God AND we complain. We believe God AND we pray hard for difficulties to change. We believe God and envision a brighter promise from Him. But always, and deeply, we must believe God.

In Jesus we have a Savior Who NEVER fails us. In His darkest hour, bearing all of the sin of all the world, of all time, Jesus felt abandoned by the Father. And Jesus know unspeakable sorrow. He bore all that for us. Yet… three days later Jesus emerged the Victor over sin and the grave! By faith we too can believe that the Man of Sorrows is now the Lord of Life! And He can deliver us as we trust Him even in our coldest, darkest, loneliest caves.