Faith for the Long Haul

"How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?" (Ps. 13:1-2).

How many of us can relate to David? All of us! We all have struggles, these "thorns in the flesh," as Paul put it. For some of us, it's a struggle with our thoughts. For others of us, it's a physical ailment. We have been hurt by others in the past, we are tormented by some in our lives today. Satan uses our frailties to bring us down. We feel as if our pain will never end. And sometimes it never will. In the second chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul asked God to remove his struggle. God refused. But God loves us; we are His children. He will not allow us to suffer more than we can bear. (See 1 Corinthians 10:13.) God knows what His children need, and He will provide what we need. It's up to us to recognize this and receive what He offers us.

So what then shall we do as we cope with these struggles? David and Paul offer examples. David said, "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me" (Ps. 13:5-6). David did four things. He 1) determined that he would trust God, 2) reminded Himself that God is faithful, 3) praised God for saving him, and 4) remembered the good things with which God had blessed him. The next time you are feeling bombarded and brought low, follow David's example. And always keep a good worship music CD around. Praising God even in the midst of frustration and sadness will direct your eyes to heaven. Two songs that come to mind are "Blessed Be Your Name" and "Trading My Sorrows."

Back to Paul...God refused to remove his struggle, didn't he? Why? God said to Paul, "'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'" (2 Cor. 12:9a). Did Paul say, "Oh, but God, I can't do it, I just can't do it." No, he didn't. If he had, he would have been focused on his limited human strength, not on God's power. Instead, he said, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (Ps. 13:9b-10). Remember that in all things, God is to be glorified. Our weaknesses reveal God's almighty strength.

We will have good days when we can actually feel God's hand supporting us. We will also have bad days when we feel like we're in a pit. The key is to remember what God has done for you in the past, recognize that it was He who saved you many times, praise Jesus for giving His life up for yours, and make a conscious decision to trust God to keep on keeping you.