“O God my rock,” I cry, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?” Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?” ~Psalm 42:9-10

 Just Remember

 This past week I attended a TNT service at America’s Keswick. For those of you that don’t know, TNT stands for text and testimony. It’s a time where the men who are involved in Keswick’s addiction recovery program can share what’s on their hearts. Mid-way through the evening there was a man who stood up and began to say how much he was struggling that past week. He shared that He didn’t understand what God was doing in his life and how he was just plain angry and confused. You could see the pain in his face and the look of uncertainty of what would come next. As he finish sharing and began to sit back down my mind ran with regards to my own past struggles.

 You see, as a young teenager I can remember countless times when I struggled with my own faith. Not whether Christ was my Savior, but why He would let certain things happen the way they did or in times of trouble why He always felt so far away. As Christians I think we are subconsciously taught that, if we are living life worthy of His name, we wouldn’t struggle with these dark thoughts and emotions. As we look at the passage from the book of Psalms though we see a different story altogether. King David, a man after God’s own heart had many moments of deep despair and heartache when he felt God was far away.

 So where do we go with this from here, how are we able to pull ourselves out of this dark place? First is to accept the fact that it is ok to feel abandoned in our own Christian walk. One thing I’ve learned is that Christ is never far away. He promises to stand by our side in every step and if we feel He has left, it’s because we have taken a step back from His presence.  Two is the mere fact that we should bring these feelings to Him. One of the worst things we can do is to put further distance from ourselves and our creator in times of feeling abandoned. Lastly and most important is to remember who we put our hope in. In the following verse is says “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again- my Savior and my God! ~Psalms 42-11”. We need to come to a place again where we simply remember who our Savior and our God is and rest in that fact. I’m not sure if you are going through a dark moment in your life today but if so, just remember.

 And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” ~Deuteronomy 31:8 – Graeme Wilson serves on our full-time ministry team in the areas of AV/IT and Social Media

 Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 43-45; Matthew 27:51-56

Quote of the day: Ignorance is no excuse when we have neglected to learn what we are obliged to know. Ambrose

Verse to Memorize: Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope! Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually! Psalm 119:116-117 ESV