Grains of Sand

designyoutrust.com (Google Images) Someone posted on FACEBOOK this morning a thought that ended like this: “I believe even when God is silent.” That statement echoed through Psalm 42 as I read it. Listen to the writer’s words: “ As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Where can I go to meet with God?…These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng ” (Psalm 42:1, 2, 4). A hunger to meet with God is a good thing. But it appears that the psalmist’s hunger remains unsatisfied, even in the house of the Lord. He used to go up to the temple with anticipation, with joy, at the head of the “pack.” But not anymore. He is “downcast” (vs. 5) or depressed. He apparently isn’t sleeping well at night (vs. 8). He is sad, feels forgotten by God and is troubled by his enemies (vs. 9)....

Psalm 28-30 I went through a period over this last year when God seemed silent. It wasn't that I thought that he had left me because I could see his hand on my life in many areas. It was just that in the areas where I wanted him to speak, he wouldn't. I felt a lot like David who wrote: " To you I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf a ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down into the pit " —Psalm 28:1 NIV. The poet returns to a similar point in Psalm 30:7 when he writes: " …when you hid your face, I was dismayed ." In my desperation for answers that heaven was reluctant to give, I wondered if I had committed some sin that was keeping God from delivering. Since he was still blessing in other areas, that conclusion didn't make a whole lot of sense, but I asked him to examine my life anyway, to search out whatever might be causing the barrier in communication. Finding nothing that would result in such a huge ...