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Sometimes I find that a verse or passage of Scripture surprises me with a sudden and unexpected shift in application. For example, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick…(now, what would I expect would come next?)….He immediately rushed to be at Lazarus' bedside, right? Well, that would be a reasonable and understandable expectation on my part. But what actually happened was this; Jesus stayed where he was for two more days and then headed for Bethany and Lazarus' home. I don't get the two day delay!
Today I came across this verse -
Psalm 116/10 (NLT) I believed in you, so I prayed,"I am deeply troubled, LORD."
"I believed in you…" This is a claim to having faith in God. But doesn't having faith in God result in triumph and praise and confidence etc.? So, as I was reading the opening words of this verse, I was surprised that it didn't go quite the way I expected.
For the Psalmist to make the claim of faith in God and, in the same breath, to acknowledge that he is deeply troubled…well, doesn't that prove that he didn't have faith in God? How can it be that faith and being deeply troubled are found alongside each other in the same verse?
The fact is that being open and honest about one's struggles in dark times is a greater evidence of faith than pretending that there are no dark times that trouble us. In order for faith to be real faith, it has to be authentic and honest. If I can't trust God to the point where I am honest and transparent about my life, then I don't really have faith in Him at all.
