Day 16 - Issue 26
Psalm 88:2 NLT
'Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry.'
When I regularly travelled throughout the world for work, I was fascinated by the variety of landscapes I experienced; from the familiarity of the Manhattan skyline to the rocky desert of eastern Turkey. Each had its own charms, its people bringing vibrant colour and texture. I saw vast wealth and abject poverty. I was struck by the resilience of humanity. I also discovered that everyone craves a stable life where they might care for family and find a measure of happiness.
I assumed as a youngster that I might somehow avoid tragedy in my life. I experienced no tragedy growing up and assumed that once I became a Christian I’d established a Holy Spirit firewall between me and misery. How naïve and arrogant! Busy with pursuing life, I’d little time to observe human tragedy acted out all around me. I joyfully assumed everyone was as settled and stable as I felt I was.
Prayer was central to my early Christian life. I made my requests known to God (Philippians 4:6) and assumed that God’s responsibility was to answer my prayers. God must protect me from anything ‘evil’, or that disadvantaged me. It was a rude awakening when the reality of life landed on my doorstep. My request was not answered and I experienced acute disappointment. Oh, how I called out to God. I requested, demanded and pleaded with God to, “incline [his] ear” (Psalm 86:1, ESV) to my request. I was greeted with silence! I concluded God was merely capricious, refusing to hear and respond to my prayer. Little did I understand the ways of God or appreciate what persevering in faith required of me.
When God appears silent and absent, it’s easy to conclude that he is no longer committed to me, or that he no longer exists. When God is silent, apparently absent, he hasn’t evaporated. It’s the landscape through which God leads us that presents us with overwhelming challenges. While life appears to be drifting towards chaos, God is still ordering its progress. The question is, do I have the capacity to persevere through the pain and despair I encounter and experience?
QUESTION: How many unanswered prayers have you buried, fearing they might injure or even destroy your faith?
PRAYER: Lord, whatever the landscape you lead me through, whether wilderness or peaceful meadows, help me to trust in you.
