The Answers my Friend
The Psalms are replete with songs of sorrow and lament. The sufferers are given space to struggle with God in the Psalter of Israel. Asaph shouts his hard questions toward heaven:
Will the Lord spurn forever, and never be favorable again?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?
Asaph finds the answers to his questions, not by looking around at his present circumstances, but by looking back at God’s deeds in history. What he comes to remember is that God has always been faithful to His nature and character. He remembers that God has always been moving history toward the ends for which He created all things.
We often find ourselves in a moment of sorrow and suffering. That pain prompts hard questions about God, our purpose, and the meaning of this life. It is often helpful in those days to look back and remember all the ways God has led you thus far. Even better, look all the way back to the Cross of Jesus and know that the One who gave His only Son for you won’t leave you now.
