"When I was in deep trouble,
I searched for the Lord.
All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven,
but my soul was not comforted.
I think of the good old days,
long since ended,
when my nights were filled with joyful songs.
I search my soul and ponder the difference now.
And I said, 'This is my fate;
the Most High has turned his hand against me.'
But then I recall all you have done, O LORD;
I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
They are constantly in my thoughts.
I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.
O God, your ways are holy.
Is there any god as mighty as you?
You are the God of great wonders!
You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations."
I searched for the Lord.
All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven,
but my soul was not comforted.
I think of the good old days,
long since ended,
when my nights were filled with joyful songs.
I search my soul and ponder the difference now.
And I said, 'This is my fate;
the Most High has turned his hand against me.'
But then I recall all you have done, O LORD;
I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
They are constantly in my thoughts.
I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.
O God, your ways are holy.
Is there any god as mighty as you?
You are the God of great wonders!
You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations."
The psalmist is really wrestling here—wrestling with the disparity between his own experience of deep distress and feeling abandoned, and the God he thought he knew who is holy, mighty, loving. A God of miracles and blessings. Yet this God seems to have abandoned the psalmist. So he wrestles for faith. And so do we at times. Like the psalmist, we need to turn to the facts of God's past deeds and wait in hope that he will again bless us. We must never let our feelings inform our faith. Let faith be the last word.
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