I’ve had a rough few days. Have you ever had days, weeks, months, years where you didn’t understand or even like what God seemed to be unfolding in front of you or someone you love?

There are times in my life when I don’t understand, like or appreciate what is happening to me, those around me or my loved ones. But Life Is Hard and this side of heaven is ugly and messy. So, why does the ugliness or messiness surprise me? Because my heart hopes for the good now. And, if I’m honest, some days part of my flesh hopes that following Jesus will bring nothing but good times, great experiences and protection from all harm. Jesus was clear that following Him involved a cross. Not only did He say life wouldn’t be easy, He said it would be hard. James opens his book by saying “consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds.” Did you catch that? WHEN, not if.

I used to strongly dislike the Psalms. I didn’t have time for poetry. I would read them and think “blah, blah, blah.” At the time, I preferred the smiting portions of Scripture. When I was in seminary I had a professor that started class each day reading from the Psalms in The Message version. I listened and finally thought “this is good stuff! Where did you say that was from again? The Psalms? Really? Really?” I love that David pours out his heart – his hopes, his fears, his anger, his disappointment, his all – to a God that he knows is big enough to handle all that David has to say. That’s great, because God has given us an example of pouring out our all to Him.

The good part, in my mind, is that David might vent and complain, but he always brings it back to his hope in God. He always comes back to God.

Psalm 13 is a classic example of why I love the Psalms and why I love David. David opens the Psalm thinking that God has forgotten him. He opens his prayer with complaint. He asks God “why have You hidden Your face from me?” He essentially says “Hey, I’m struggling here and I think You are absent.  God where are You?” 

The next section of the Psalm David opens up and calls for help. He is asking God to hear him and answer his cries for help. Yes, God knows all things, but God wants to hear from His children.  We never know if God answers David at this point. We don’t hear the dialogue, but the next section is the critical part and what I am choosing to focus on at this time in my life. David makes a conscious choice to trust in God and rejoice. Life circumstances are telling David one thing, his heart is telling him something else and he chooses to follow his heart. What David sees around him seems to be the reality, but David knows better.  He makes the bold statement that he will trust in God. And not just in God, but in God’s unfailing love.  David has turned the corner here. He begins to recall God’s character. I love this part because David does this in a way that almost sounds to me that he is asking God to live up to His reputation. He reminds God of His unfailing love and His salvation.

David ends his prayer in Psalm 13 in praise. He has decided that he will sing to God because God has been good to him. He is remembering who God is and has been in his life and choosing to place his confidence in those things he knows to be true about God from past experience and not in the way things appear to be.

When David didn’t see or feel God, He looked back at God’s faithfulness in his life and chose to bank on that. In addition, David decided that whether God was visible or not he would still place his trust in Him.

Here is what I know to be true – Life Is Hard. God is good. God loves my loved one more than I do. God knows the number of the hairs on my head and her head. God knows when she lies down and when she gets up. God is her rock, her shield, her fortress and her redeemer.

I don’t understand why certain things are happening. I don’t understand why my loved one has to go through something so difficult. But I do know my God. I’m not going to focus on those things I don’t know and can never know. Life Is Hard. Today, I’m going to focus on what I do know – my God.

How about you? Is life hard right now? Pour your heart out to God.  Write down what you know about God. Look back over your life and recall and recount the faithfulness of God and rest in that.  Remember the character of God and even when you don’t necessarily feel like it, rehearse your trust in God. Don’t let your circumstances be your compelling life evidence, let your God be your compelling evidence!  Say, like David “But, I trust in the Lord.”

My prayer is that God would find me diligent to continue walking with Him as I add pieces of His character to what I know, that I would be faithful in remembering His character in times of trouble, that I would praise His name and place my confidence in Him. I pray that He would find you working at these as well.