The world is quick to judge believers who love, serve, trust and obey God.  When believers have a rough day with bad circumstances piling up, the world’s first response is, “So, where is this God of yours?”  Like the Psalmist, we can listen to the unbelievers or look up, stop asking why, and ask for our God’s help.  He’s already at work and ready to clue us in at just the right time!

What seems highly inappropriate and unexpected is when we judge each other as believers as we experience difficulties of daily life here on earth as being “not right” with God.  “Ah, there must be something in your life that you have not confessed to God.”  “That’s why you’re having so much trouble!” These words are the most discouraging words we can say to each other while going through a challenge.  Our world is not perfect. We are not perfect.  When you put these two truths together, troubles will come and trials will occur—as Jesus proclaimed along with “relax, I have overcome the world”. (John 16:33) We can choose to either grow from it, as God works in us, or we can wonder why, sit and stew over it.  I have lived long enough to know that God is closer to us when we are suffering through troubles unexplainable.  I’ve also learned that the depths of destress is God’s prime time to mold and shape us into His masterpiece, a lifelong work until we see Him face to face in all His glory. 

We believers, like every human in the world around us, like to have reasons for everything that happens to us.  If reasons are not forthcoming and we can’t explain why this or that happens; we create our own “storylines” to match the current circumstance. Satan loves to help us in this futile pursuit of plausible explanations. God calls it sin because our assumption and presumption about life are not truth.  We have no knowledge of what God is doing for others and in ourselves!  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God in this particular sin.  We’ve all done it or experienced it done to us. Let’s work on that with God’s wonderworking power of His Holy Spirit, active and living in us, governing our desire to explain life.

It is God the songwriters are longing for—not explanations.  “I thirst for you—like a deer” who comes out of the woods for a drink at a calm clear pool of refreshing water.  God hears prayers like this and meets us where we are with all we need to humbly walk with Him. 

Psalm 42, The Message

Book 2 – Sons of Korah

^1-3 A white-tailed deer drinks
    from the creek;
I want to drink God,
    deep drafts of God.
I’m thirsty for God-alive.
I wonder, “Will I ever make it—
    arrive and drink in God’s presence?”
I’m on a diet of tears—
    tears for breakfast, tears for supper.
All day long
    people knock at my door,
Pestering,
    “Where is this God of yours?”

⁴ These are the things I go over and over,
    emptying out the pockets of my life.
I was always at the head of the worshiping crowd,
    right out in front,
Leading them all,
    eager to arrive and worship,
Shouting praises, singing thanksgiving—
    celebrating, all of us, God’s feast!

⁵ Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
    Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
    soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
    He’s my God.

^6-8 When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse
    everything I know of you,
From Jordan depths to Hermon heights,
    including Mount Mizar.
Chaos calls to chaos,
    to the tune of whitewater rapids.
Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers
    crash and crush me.
Then God promises to love me all day,
    sing songs all through the night!
    My life is God’s prayer.

^9-10 Sometimes I ask God, my rock-solid God,
    “Why did you let me down?
Why am I walking around in tears,
    harassed by enemies?”
They’re out for the kill, these
    tormentors with their obscenities,
Taunting day after day,
    “Where is this God of yours?”

¹¹ Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
    Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
    soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
    He’s my God.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

It is God that puts a smile on our faces that is genuine and true.  Peace comes when we no longer ask why but simply trust and obey God.

May we fix our attention on God with praises and thanksgiving for all He has done, is doing and will do!

In Jesus Name, I pray and sing, Amen!

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free.

 Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
  In the light of His glory and grace.