Strength in the “but”

Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”

But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.

(Psalms 3:1-4)

Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?

 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.  Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.

(Psalm 10:12-15)

Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and body with grief.
My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction.
and my bones grow weak  Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors
and an object of dread to my closest friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.
 I am forgotten as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.  For I hear many whispering,
“Terror on every side!”
They conspire against me
and plot to take my life.

But I trust in you, Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”

(Psalm 31:9-14)

But…

Background

The book of Psalm is real and raw. And reflects emotions that shift back and forth between euphoria to despair.  David was so good at naming his emotions.  Unlike me.  He experienced tree top experiences.  He experienced crazy lows.  Just like us.

And yet so many times in this book there is a connector from the despair and lows in life to a belief that extended beyond the emotion of the moment. There is a reminder and a “but”.

This “but” reminds both the reader…and the author. That God’s authority and goodness remains real. When all is going good.  And when all is falling apart.  His goodness is constant.

…even if the current circumstances look hopeless.

Reflections

Let’s face it. Life can become very difficult.  Very quickly.

Have you ever received a call from the doctor describing a tough test report? Maybe one with the “c” word?  Sherri and I have. Despair.  Have you received a call or had the knock on the door that revealed that a loved one was unexpectedly gone?  Despair.  Or maybe you have been on the receiving end of relationship betrayal?  Despair.  Or a difficult boss.  Or a wayward child.  Tough.

When life seems to be crumbling and the floor seems to be giving way, it is important that our faith includes a connector beyond the moment. A “but”.  A recognition that our God is good.  And a redeemer.  And can be trusted.  That our God is bigger than our circumstance.  That He “has this”.

A theology without a “but” enables a weak foundation of faith. A theology that includes a “but” provides hope.  A faith foundation of granite.  That gets us to the other side.

Lord, you are so good. It is so easy to place faith in You only when all is going well.  But to teeter when circumstances look bleak.  Of course there are no guarantees in the horizontal life we live here.  The only guarantee is “You can be trusted”.  When all is good.  And all crumbling.  Let our faith be mixed with ingredients that include the “but”.  Help me to have a rock solid faith in both the good.  And the hopeless.  I love you.  Amen.

What if the church demonstrated to the world a faith and trust in Him that was just as consistent in the difficult as it was with euphoric?  Would this faith better reflect His glory?