Is God Trustworthy?

“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me.”

Psalm 57:1 (ESV)

How do you feel when your future is uncertain? For months now, our son has been waiting on his college acceptances. He has his favorites, of course. As luck would have it, his “safety school” was the first to admit him. Initially, our son rejoiced! But when his relief passed, I noticed our son quietly retreated into his thoughts. I knew he was thankful for his admission, but deep down, he wondered if something better would come along.

Sometimes uncertainty adds excitement and joyful anticipation to our lives, but many times, uncertainty feels more like walking through a patch of thorns in the wilderness. I don’t know about you, but when I’m in the middle of an undesirable messy situation, I start racking my brain to find a favorable solution. If I have kids who are struggling? “God, please provide (insert what they need).” Argument with my spouse? “God, help us resolve our issues.” When God doesn’t provide, and uncertainty brings thorns into my life, I find myself wondering why God doesn’t make things better.

I think it’s normal to resist the uncomfortable, thorny patches of life. We weren’t wired to wrestle with prickly thorns in the wilderness. We were created to live in the perfect garden with God.

As sin entered the world, the beautiful garden was corrupted with thorns and weeds. Pain and hardship arrived as insults to comfort and ease of life. When rough patches appear in our world, we recoil in shock because they weren’t part of God’s desire for us. God wanted us to experience life in the luscious garden, not difficulty in the thorny wilderness.

So how can we find contentment and emotional peace when trying to navigate a season of life filled with uncomfortable and unwanted thorns?

We find stability for our emotions and hope for the future by shifting our focus from the thorns to the Gardener.

The thorns get our attention because we feel their pain. Loneliness, isolation, stress, anxiety, and desperately desired but unanswered prayers poke us every minute of every day, reminding us there must be something better than this!

We must surrender our own way to fix things and remind ourselves that God’s will is better than what we think is the best way.

Long before our circumstances turned thorny, David wrestled with his own uncertain future amidst very discouraging circumstances. David had been anointed as Israel’s next king, but fifteen to twenty years later, David was still uncrowned, and his living conditions were far worse than when he was a shepherd boy. Instead of training to become royal, David was living as an outcast in a cave fighting for his life. This must have been the furthest scenario from his mind when Samuel announced at least a decade earlier that David would be Israel’s next King.

David expresses his emotional pain in Psalm 57:1 where he says,” Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.” (ESV)

The word, “mercy” in this verse means, “help”. David pleas with God to help him. Can you relate to that? I know I can.

After his opening, David spends the rest of the Psalm remembering and stating his confidence in God’s character. He declares God to be his refuge, his vindicator, his Savior, and the One who loves him. He remembers God’s love and faithfulness. David’s gaze is so focused on God that by the end of the Psalm, he ends with praising God and asking for God’s glory to fill the earth.

Nothing about David’s situation had changed. When he opened his eyes, he was still an outcast, living in a cave. Yet when he shifted his focus from the thorns to the Gardener, David realized that God’s will is better than David’s very best way.

We target the thorns because we are convinced that something better exists if only God would act according to our will. We forget that God’s way is better. He has more wisdom, more knowledge, more mercy, and more of what we need. God didn’t cause the thorns to be in our lives, but He will redeem them and use them for good, in His perfect timing.

What patch of thorns are you dealing with today? Can you change your focus and remind yourself that God’s will is better than your very best way? God wants His best for you, and sometimes, we must walk through the wilderness to get to the promised land.

Dear Heavenly Father, I’m weary and frustrated and disappointed and discouraged. Please strengthen me and remind me that your will is better than my very best way. Help me to trust you more than I trust my own plans. Give me strength to hold on to you, and confidence to believe that your solution is worth the wait. I choose you. Encourage me according to your will. In your name I pray, Amen

Resources to Help

1.      Start a list of prayer requests and record when He answers. No request is too small. As you note His faithfulness, it will be an encouragement for you while waiting on unanswered prayers.

2.      Read 1 Samuel 24. What stands out to you in this chapter?

3.      How did David glorify God while hiding in the cave? How can you glorify God while waiting on His promises to you?

Songs to Help

1.      Raise a Hallelujah, by Bethel Music

2.      It Is Well, by Kristene DiMarco and Bethel Music

3.      Hills and Valleys, by Tauren Wells