Trust and Obey There is No Other Way
Sometimes our circumstances make it difficult to praise God and to trust that He's really good. So, how do we make what we believe about God's goodness line up with what we're experiencing? Obedience is the key.
by Denise Morris Cool Runnings I've been going running a lot lately. I hate it. Some weirdoes love to run for miles and miles they anticipate the time to be outside, running away the stresses of the day, whistling with joy as their endorphins soar. Freaks, all of them. I, however, am no fool; I know that running is miserable. It is painful and cruel and silly why run when you can walk (or take a nap)? But for some reason, I do it anyway. I guess mainly to prove to myself that I can. One of the only things that gets me through my runs is my trusty iPod. Without it, I would be stuck listening to myself huff and puff my way through five miles. Not fun. Thankfully, I get to listen to some sweet worship music and pray through the songs. Painful Praise The song that has touched me most deeply lately is Shane and Shane's "Psalm 145." It is basically just Scripture put to music. And it's beautiful. The melody of the song is quite interesting to me because its mood is somewhat melancholy. (Go here ,* click on "listen to samples" and then click "Psalm 145" to see what I mean.) What's odd about the meandering slowness of the song is that it doesn't seem to quite fit with the mood of the actual biblical psalm. In the Bible, Psalm 145 is joyous it's about praising a God who is worthy of all glory. David says that he will exalt his God and praise Him every single day forever. God is faithful to His promises and worthy of praise. He opens His hand and satisfies us! This particular psalm is one of rejoicing and thankfulness. Here, take a quick peek: I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the L ord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. (vv. 1-3) The psalm itself is joyous it seems like it should be sung with clapping and tambourines. But the Shane and Shane song almost feels sad; it starts out slowly and timidly: "Great is the Lord and worthy of praise," the song begins, but it is almost as if the vocalist is struggling to believe it. "Every day I will praise," he whispers. "For you open your hand and satisfy desires of all things," he strains. Later the song intensifies as he repeats that the Lord is gracious and slow to anger, rich in love and good to all. But to my ears at least it is not a joyous telling of this truth. It's almost as if the vocalist is urgently reminding God of these things and telling himself that these words are true. He is begging God to be good, to be worthy of praise. He is forcing himself to worship every single day. To me, this song is one of painful praise. 1 The joyful words of this psalm, coupled with the melancholy tune of this song, is a perfect description of my faith walk with God at the moment. Accepting the Struggle The fact is, I am in a spot right now where I, too, am begging God to be good. I am forcing myself to praise, to trust His words. All of us go through these times now and then; my situation is not unusual or extreme. But at this moment it is very real. I have been a Christian for a long time. I know a lot of Scripture. I have attended many a church service, and have taken lots of notes on the sermons I've heard. All this to say that sometimes, even with all of my head knowledge, I still struggle to praise God. It is sometimes difficult for me to say the words of Psalm 145 with joy and gladness. This is why the Shane and Shane song touches me so much it conveys the words I know are true, but in a way that accepts the struggle. A Theology of Suffering I know that many of you struggle with difficult situations in your lives at one point or another. We all face times when God seems far away when what we know to be true about His character doesn't seem to match up with what we're experiencing. There are times when we can't help but question God. A couple of months ago, one of my co-workers lost a quick and fierce battle with cancer. She left behind her husband, her three young children and countless people who benefited from her wisdom and love. How can we look at this situation and not wonder why God allowed this? Where is He in this situation, or has He simply disappeared? In the Bible, Job experienced the same thing. He was afflicted for no fault of his own and God remained silent through most of his suffering. And when God finally does reply, He doesn't give any kind of satisfactory answer He simply reminds us that He is God and we are not. If we are to get through this life, I believe that our theology must accept the fact that God allows pain and suffering. 2 James tells us to consider these times sheer gifts because of the spiritual maturity they will bring about in our lives. Sometimes God explains these situations to us, and at other times He doesn't. What does seem to be consistent throughout Scripture is that God brings us through painful times and then rescues us in order to glorify Himself. Psalm 40 says that God lifts us out of the slimy pit and sets us on a rock so that we might praise and draw others unto Him. Psalm 50:15 says, "and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me " (emphasis mine). God often seems to use our suffering to bring glory to His name. Obedience and Me I have a few close friends who are in painful situations right now. We often talk about how to handle it, how to overcome, and how to praise God when we don't feel like it. And what I've discovered, in my life at least, is that most of it comes down to plain old obedience. Those of us who are followers of Christ have been given a high calling which, to be honest, sometimes seems overwhelming. We are to attempt to be like our Rabbi a man who just happened to live a sinless life. We are to do our best to be like Him every single day. Now, realistically, we won't be successful at this. But that doesn't give us an excuse not to try; we are called to make every effort to live according to our calling. 3 This effort this obedience will look different for each of us, depending on our situations. Sometimes we are to show love to those who don't deserve it, sometimes we must forgive or ask forgiveness of others. Sometimes we are asked to deny ourselves in order to serve someone else. But in my circumstances, I have found that most often God asks me to obey by simply trusting Him. And trusting God is where the active faith I've talked about before comes into play. We must believe and do. If, when times are good, we find ourselves saying we trust God, we then must work to act out that belief when times are bad. Oddly enough, when things go well, I start to trust in myself a bit, which is direct disobedience to God. If things are good, I don't walk with Him daily, I don't try my best to be like Him at every moment. Honestly, I only seem to truly reach out to Him when I am in great distress. When I am content, I tend to forget about God or at least think I'm doing all right without spending much time with Him. And so perhaps He allows pain so that I turn back to Him. If so, I suppose it is a valid tactic, but it sometimes feels cruel nonetheless. But I know in my head that God is not cruel. Oftentimes, He is steering me back toward obedience through (sometimes painful) discipline so that it will produce a "harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:11, NIV). God is my Father; He is loving and gentle. He works all things together for good. Sometimes that knowledge gets clouded by the harsh realities of life, my sinful nature, and the actions of those around me. But it does not change the truth of it. God is good. He is. He Has Made Me Glad And so if we really believe the words of Scripture, if we really want to do our best to trust that God is good, we must choose to obey Him in all circumstances. Sometimes it's as difficult as trusting that God has a plan in the death of a family member. And sometimes it's as simple as singing the words of Psalm 145 in the midst of circumstances that cause us to question whether or not God will really reach out His hand to satisfy. It requires effort. It requires faith. But our obedience is not in vain. Remember that through Christ's obedience to the Father's will, salvation was brought to the entire world. And when we choose to obey God, we take another step toward becoming like Christ. So, friends, let's push on. Let's continue to remind ourselves of God's promises. And someday we'll sing the words of Psalm 145 with joy and gladness (and maybe a tambourine or two).
Notes - I may be interpreting this song completely incorrectly, so if either of the Shanes is reading this, please don't sue me. I don't have any money anyway. Back^
- Check out Blake's series on God, Suffering and Evil . Back^
- See Ephesians 4:1-3 . Back^
*Note: Referrals to Web sites not produced by Focus on the Family are for informational purposes only and do not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content. About the author
Denise Morris is an Editor for TrueU.org and authors content for the Womens Hall and Student Lounge. Denise earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and Spanish from the University of St. Thomas. She has written and edited for some small and some large publications; spent time in Spain learning how to make tapas; cheers for Minnesota sports teams (especially the Timberwolves); likes to debate; and enjoys spending time with friends and/or enemies. Artist's thoughts
"This image was inspired as I thought of the TRUEST sufferer for Christ I have ever known: Paul. Now that is some serious pain and suffering. Yet all the while Paul remained hopeful, obedient and praised the Lord for his life. Another amazing aspect of Paul's suffering is that he still loved others from behind bars encouraging them, lifting them up. How easily he could have just given up, got angry and denounced his faith. But he held strong, trusted and believed." Luke Flowers
Image Copyright © 2007 Luke Flowers. All rights reserved.
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