Why won't you answer me, God?

Psalm 102:1-2 (MSG) God, listen! Listen to my prayer, listen to the pain in my cries. Don’t turn your back on me just when I need you so desperately. Pay attention! This is a cry for help! And hurry—this can’t wait!

Habakkuk 1:1-4 (MSG) God, how long do I have to cry out for help before you listen? How many times do I have to yell, “Help! Murder! Police!” before you come to the rescue? Why do you force me to look at evil, stare trouble in the face day after day? Anarchy and violence break out, quarrels and fights all over the place. Law and order fall to pieces. Justice is a joke. The wicked have the righteous hamstrung and stand justice on its head.

This morning while reading through Psalm 102, I was reminded of the first few verses of Habakkuk. In both instances the Psalmist and Habakkuk cry out to God in desperation. Although there's a difference in the plea, they both cry out because they know they can go directly to God, in times of joy and trouble, and He will hear them.

Have you ever poured out your soul to the Lord before? Perhaps you have chronic illness or pain, or you have doubts or fears about how a situation is going to turn out in your life. The only question you have is “Why God?” or “How long do I have to cry out to you before you help me?”

The Psalmist and Habakkuk weren't afraid to pose their questions and concerns to God. In Psalm 102, the Psalmist recognizes that God will be enthroned forever (102:12). In both chapters, we can see that God knew about the circumstances going on was then and will forever be in control. God is sovereign and His plan (short-term or long-range) will be fulfilled on His timetable.  

Even today, the same is true for us. We may not like our current

circumstances (an illness, pain, marital issues,  the direction of our nation, senseless killings, robberies, terrorist attacks, abortions, famine,etc.)  we have to realize that God is still in the driver’s seat. Nothing that happens in this world catches him by surprise…NOT one thing. God is working out His purposes in His own time, not ours and certainly not according to our comfort level.

The Psalmist's and Habakkuk’s example are ones of encouragement, especially when we fear God doesn't see our circumstances. I challenge you to read Psalm 102 and the 3 short chapters of Habakkuk today and consider the following:

Take your complaint/concern to God.
Wait for God to answer.
When God answers, Rejoice/Praise Him for the outcome.

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Our plans vs. God's plans

People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD. (Proverbs 19:3 NLT)

Have you ever been mad at God? Something bad...really bad... happens and you decide to blame God. So you yell and scream at Him because you think He allowed the circumstance to happen.

"How can you do this to me?!" You shout. "Don't you care about me at all? How could you have let this happen?"

I found myself screaming those very words at the top of my lungs when our expensive attempt at in-vitro fertilization (IVF) failed. The doctor said she had only seen one other case like mine in her entire career and because of the high probability of another failed attempt, the couple decided not to go through the procedure again. 

My husband and I wanted to have a family of our own. We had been through so many fertility procedures, and even had a child in our home through our city's foster-adopt program only to come up empty. For me the IVF failure was the final straw and I blew up at God.

I was mad and asked the question, "How could He have allowed all these things to happen?"

What I didn't realize at the time is... God's timing and plan for my life is perfect. Instead of seeking the Lord and trusting Him through the circumstance, I flew off the handle and got angry because things weren't happening the way I thought they should have.  

Two weeks after the IVF failed, I received a phone call from a dear friend. 

"Remember Andi?"

I thought for a moment. "I remember the name."

"Well, she's pregnant and wants to give you the baby."

"What?" My heart raced as my head processed what my friend has just said.

"The pregnancy was unplanned and she really doesn't feel like she could provide for a child at this point in her life. She knows some of what you've gone through and loves this child enough to give him or her a good family."

Silence hung in the air as I thought "could this be the reason everything else hasn't worked out for us?"

I had no idea how to respond. "I need to talk to my husband before going any further. You know we've been down this road before and it's painful. The promise of a child and then the decision by the mother to keep the baby hurts so much. I don't think I could go through that again."

"I know. When she told me I told her I couldn't let you go through another heartache. She promised me it would happen...and I believe her."

 God knows our hearts and sees our life from beginning to end. He knew the IVF would fail. His plan was for the child this woman carried to be ours. Because I could only see the situation that was right in front of me, I reacted in anger when things didn't turn out the way I planned. But God knew I would be a mother in less than 9 months.

His plans are so much bigger and better than ours!

Through this journey, my faith has grown and I have leaned to trust Him completely. I also know without a doubt He is working even when I can’t see what He’s doing.

What is beyond your ability to believe?

Hebrews 10:23 (NIV) Let us hold unswervingly [emphasis mine] to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

In 2 Kings 4:8 – 34 we are introduced to a wealthy Shunammite woman who was generous and hospitable to the prophet, Elisha. We are told in 2 Kings 4:8 that Elisha would stop at her house and enjoy a meal every time he passed through town. One day the woman talked with her husband and they agreed to add a room onto their house for Elisha to stay in while travelling.

Elisha recognized her kindness and wanted to put in a good word for her with the King or the Commander of the Army. But the Shunammite woman wasn’t looking for favor. She was content to live around her family and friends. Elisha wanted to bless her for her hospitality. So while talking with his servant, Gehazi, Elisha learned that the woman and her aging husband were childless. So Elisha called for the woman and promised her that by the same time next year, she would hold a son in her arms.

Like Sarah, she reacted in disbelief (Gen. 18:10-15) as she objected asking Elisha not to mislead her. Yet, a year later, she held a son in her arms. What a surprising gift! Unlike other barren women we read about through scripture (Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Hannah) this women carried the desire for a child in her heart (Psalm 37:4). She wasn’t angry or bitter because life hadn’t exactly turned out the way she planned. She simply continued to serve the Lord and his people and God rewarded her for her faithfulness.

A few years later the boy fell ill (with a severe headache) while visiting his father in the fields. One of the servants brought the boy to his mother and she held him close to her until he died at noon. Without saying a word, she laid the boy on Elisha’s bed and left immediately for Mt. Carmel in hopes of finding Elisha.

The women traveled 25 miles to get to Elisha. When she saw Gehazi approaching her she was kind to him yet it was Elisha she wanted to see. Distressed she spoke to Elisha directly “Did I ask you for a son? Did I not say, Do not mislead me?” (v. 29) Immediately Elisha gave Gehazi his staff and commanded him to run and not talk to anyone along the way. When he arrived at the house, Elisha commanded Gehazi to lay the staff on on the boy’s face.

Gehazi left, however the woman didn’t want the servant…she wanted Elisha. Elisha and the women hurried to Shunem to see the boy. When Elisha got there the boy’s lifeless body lay in his bed.  Closing the door behind him, Elisha stretched out his body across the boy so that their hands, mouths and eyes touched and began to pray. He could feel the cold body begin to warm. Elisha got up and began to walk around the room. After a short time passed, he stretched out his body one more time, began to pray and the boy’s chest lifted. Then he sneezed. The boy was alive.

Even in the face of impossible circumstances, God kept His promise. The woman held unswervingly to the promise of God.

So what promise from God are you unswervingly holding on to even through everything you see seems impossible? Look beyond the circumstance and focus on the Almighty God who keeps His promises.

Trusting God in "reed" moments

Psalm 25:1 (NIV) “In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.”

 Psalm 56:4 (NIV) “In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

I had to ask myself a tough question as I read the words of Exodus chapter 2.  In the first few verses, the story is told of Jochebed, the mother of Moses, hiding her 3 month old son in a basket in the reeds by the riverbank. Would I have the courage to do something like that? Would I trust God with my baby’s life?

Have you ever wondered why she put her son in a basket and laid him alongside a river? During the time the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt (Exodus 1:8 – 14). Pharaoh was afraid of the Hebrew's growing number so he commanded the mid-wives to kill all male babies birthed by the Hebrews. But they didn’t listen. The mid-wives feared God more than Pharaoh and because of this reverential fear; the Hebrew population grew even more.

Jochebed hid Moses for 3 months until she could no longer hide him. Can you imagine what is going through her mind?  I can only dare to think. 

“My son, this wonderful gift from God, there is no way I can let you die. There has to be a way to keep you alive. Oh God! What do I do? Where can I hide him.” 

Jochebed made a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch (Exodus 2:3). She placed the child in the basket and laid him in the reeds along the riverbank of the Nile and trusted God to keep him alive. Can you just imagine the scene? Could you have watched as your baby lay in the reeds? I'm not so sure I could have done that. Jochebed sent Miriam, Moses' sister, to stand at a distance and watch .

Now I don’t know about you...but I am pretty sure I would not have been able to go through with this plan. True, Jochebed thought this was the only possible way to keep the boy alive. But think of the risk she was taking. I’m sure there were animals by the river. When I think about that, I think about snakes. YUK. I am not a big fan of snakes. That thought just gives me the creeps. Perhaps she remembered the stories that were handed down about Abraham and Isaac. God protected Isaac, so surely God would keep her baby alive. Her courage and faith allowed God to show up in a big way. His will for Moses’s life was being set into motion. 

What could God’s will possibly be for Moses in this situation? I am certain Jochebed was scared and felt utterly hopeless. But she trusted God, and what she couldn’t see in that moment she trusted God to work in her current circumstance.

 Soon after Jochebed placed Moses in the reeds, Pharaoh’s daughter came to the river for a bath. She noticed the basket in the reeds and ordered her maid-servant to bring it to her. When she opened it, she saw Moses. He was crying so she took pity on him. She assumed he was a Hebrew baby. Her assumptions were correct. When Miriam approached the the woman, she asked if she could go find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for her. Pharaoh’s daughter said “Yes” and Miriam returned to her mother and shared the good news. The woman named the boy “Moses” and hired Jochebed to nurse him. What joy Jochebed must have experienced in that moment. Her son was alive and she could raise him and be the primary influence in his life.

 In the midst of horrible circumstances, Jochebed was able to take advantage of the opportunity God had given her. Jochebed’s act of courage and faith was the beginning of God’s plan to place a Hebrew in the house of Pharaoh and ultimately rescue His people from Egypt.

 So what about you? When your current circumstances look bleak, do you become paralyzed by fear because the situation looks humanly impossible? Or do you, trust God to reveal His plan for that situation?

You can trust God with every little detail of your life. He will bring light out of the darkest situations if you keep your focus on Him and remember He has a plan...and He is at work.

Can I really trust God?

God's promises are pure!

Psalm 12:6 The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.

As I read over this verse, I couldn’t help but think of how thankful I am to know that the One I can count on when everything seems to go south will always keep His promises. He will never lie to me or try to deceive me. He can’t, it’s not in his nature. His words and promises are pure like silver refined in a furnace and purified seven times over. That just blows my mind. When I started to think about the word "pure" it made me think about its actual definition. What does the word "pure" actually mean? I went to the dictionary and looked it up, Mom would be so proud.

Pure, a. Free from moral defilement; without spot; not sullied or tarnished; incorrupt; undebased by moral turpitude; holy.

There, at the end of the definition - did you see it? The word holy. Our God is a holy God. What does holy mean? Again I flipped through the dictionary.

Holy, a. Properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections. Applied to the Supreme Being, holy signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character; and man is more or less holy, as his heart is more or less sanctified, or purified from evil dispositions.

Did you notice how many times the form of the word pure was used in the definition of the word holy? It was used 3 times. That tells me that if God’s promises are pure and God is holy then I can trust and rely on Him with every circumstance in my life. He is not going to try to trip me up for His benefit for gain. He is going to seek what is right for me, for my best interest... even if I don't understand why He does the things he does.

The God who spoke the entire universe into existence loves me and wants what's best for me. The Bible proves that time and time again as we read of God's mercy and grace. If you're struggling withe something today and you don't know if you can even trust God to get you through it, I encourage you to spend some time reading through the book of Psalms, Proverbs, or one of the 4 gospels. In these books you will find encouragement to press on, wisdom and knowledge, and the reason God sent Jesus to walk among us.  


God is pure and holy...  you can trust Him....  you can REALLY trust Him with all the details of your life.

Need direction?

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.  (Psalm 119:105)

Feel like your in a pit of depression?

"You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light." (2 Samuel 22:29)

Need His strength to get you through the toughest trial of your life? 

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Are you anxious about what the future holds? 

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God trust also in me." (John 14:1)

Not sure God can forgive you? 

"If we confess with our mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

Where does my help come from???

1 Corinthians 16:13 (NLT) Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.

In the final chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul encourages the believers to stand firm in their faith. As Christians we should follow these instructions Paul gave to the church at Corinth. Paul understood something. He knew of the persecution the believers would face first hand because he had experienced it himself. Being a follower of Jesus Christ was not easy in Paul's day. Sometimes to follow Christ meant facing death. The same is true in today’s society. There are Christians persecuted because of their faith every day. Some of them, not so much those in the United States, even die because they profess the name of Jesus.

Paul encourages us to be on guard and be strong. In the book of Ephesians, Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10 – 18) so that we can stand against the tricks of Satan. Satan is a deceiver. For every truth in the Bible, Satan has a mirror opposite. Just take a look at the first couple. God had created them and placed them in the most lavish garden on earth. He told them they were free to eat from any tree there except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2: 16 – 17). Satan comes on the scene and makes Adam and Eve doubt what God had told them “Did God say not to eat from any tree in the garden?” (Gen 3:1) Eve came back with what God had said and Satan turned it all around by making God out to be strict and stingy not wanting them to share in His knowledge of good and evil. We all know what happened after that right? Eve believed the lie and Satan has been wreaking havoc on God’s children ever since.

That’s why Paul encourages us to stand firm. He understood that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. It is against Satan (the master deceiver) and his band of fallen angels (demons). There is a battle being fought for your soul. The closer you get to Christ and living life His way, the more Satan will try to trip you up. It is our job to be aware of his tricks and fight with God’s strength by “hiding His Word” in our hearts (Psalm 119:11). We don’t have to fight this battle alone. “In this world you will have troubles,” Jesus told his disciples, “put take heart, I have overcome the world!” 

Isn’t that encouraging?

I know that if I look at my battles from a Godly perspective, I can withstand anything because:

·         When Satan stirs up thoughts of my past I know I am a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17)

·         I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Phil 4:13)

·         If I come near to Christ, He will come near to me (James 4:8)

Today, may I encourage you to read Psalm 121 and find confidence in Christ by claiming these words as your own.

I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let my foot slip, He who watches over me will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over me will neither slumber nor sleep.  The LORD watches over me, the LORD is my shade at my right hand; the sun will not harm me by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep me from all harm He will watch over my life; the LORD will watch over my coming and going both now and forevermore.

A picture of real faith

It is by faith that we are saved, not by being good and moral person.

Romans 4 v.4-5 (MSG) “If you're a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don't call your wages a gift. But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it's something only God can do, and you trust him to do it—you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked—well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift.”

Paul uses Abraham as a good example of someone who was saved by faith. Paul is not suggesting here that God’s laws are unimportant, he is emphasizing faith. It is impossible to be right with God by simply following the law He gave us, we have to obey them. If a person could be set right with God by “being good”, then the salvation Christ offers wouldn’t be free – it would be earned or looked at as an obligation. We can’t be good enough even if we tried. We have to rely on the grace and mercy God gives. We have to trust that He knows what is best for our life even if we wouldn’t agree with what He thinks is best.

The Message puts it this way in verses 13-16. “That famous promise God gave Abraham—that he and his children would possess the earth—was not given because of something Abraham did or would do (emphasis mine). It was based on God's decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed. If those who get what God gives them only get it by doing everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly signed, that eliminates personal trust completely and turns the promise into an ironclad contract! That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal. A contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect. But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a promise—and God's promise at that—you can't break it. This is why the fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does (emphasis mine). God's promise arrives as pure gift. That's the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father—that's reading the story backward. He is our faith father.”

Abraham pleased God because he trusted, believed and had faith in God and his promises. Even though Abraham made mistakes along the way, he consistently trusted God. His faith was strengthened by the hurdles he faced.

Like Abraham, it is up to me to look at the “mountains” in my life as a way to strengthen my faith in Christ. He can move the “mountain.” Whatever it is I am going – marriage and family issues, job issues, people conflicts - Christ is strong enough to handle it. There is absolutely nothing too difficult for him. If I have faith and trust in Jesus, I can make it through anything and my faith will be strengthened as a result. The same is true for anyone who chooses to trust in Christ and allow Him to “call the shots” in their life.

Related reading: Isaiah 41:10, 13; Romans 8:28; Proverbs 3:5-6; Jeremiah 32:17, 26-27

Open my heart and what do you find? J - O - Y

Psalms 4 – 6 were written by David. I can just feel David crying out to God in these three chapters. In Psalms 4 and 5 David cries out to God for answered prayer. “Answer me when I call, O God of my right!” (4:1 – NRSV) “Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray.” (5:2 – NRSV) As I continued to read both of these Psalms, David realized God would listen to his prayers. He was confident in the Lord. He knew he could lie down and sleep in peace (4:8) because he was certain the Lord was with him and would make him safe. He also knew God was his refuge in times of troubles. God was the only protection David needed (5:11) from any circumstance he faced.

In chapter 6 David pours out his soul to God. David is not holding back or hiding one single thing from God. He is being completely open and honest. 

Being completely open and honest with God is something I have had to really work on as I continue to walk each day with Christ. Some days are better than others. I don’t know why I try to hold onto things - God can see them right? I just have to give up control.  From experience, I know when I "release my grip" God pours incredible blessings over me.

In Psalm 6, David has complete trust in God. Instead of being a victim to his circumstance, he chooses to deepen his faith by relying on God to deliver him. 

Remember it is only God who can put joy in our hearts and bring peace from the chaos in our lives.

Do you trust God with absolutely everything in your life? Do you talk to him like he’s your best friend or do you just go to Him in times of trouble? 

God desires a close and personal relationship with all of us. He will put joy and peace that surpasses all understanding in our hearts. But it's up to us to communicate with Him through reading His Word and prayer. Find time to spend with God throughout your day (it doesn't have to be long...just consistent), you will be blessed if you do.

Psalm 4:1 (NIV) Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

Psalm 5:2 (NIV) Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. 

Psalm 6:4 (NIV) Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.

Wait? What does that mean?

Psalm 40: 1 – 3 (AMP) “I WAITED patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay (froth and slime), and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings. And He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many shall see and fear (revere and worship) and put their trust and confident reliance in the Lord.”

There are several thoughts that come to mind when I think about waiting…especially waiting patiently. In today’s society “waiting patiently” to some is unfathomable. We have instant access to everything. From a piping hot bowl of soup fresh from the microwave to the type of information we can access over the internet. When we “want” something, we can typically “get it” in a matter of minutes. There is minimal waiting involved.

But what about waiting on the Lord? You have ever prayed and prayed and prayed about something and felt like absolutely nothing was happening? I sure have. One thing I have to remember is God is always working. We may not be able to see what He is doing…but He is continuously weaving the tapestry of our lives by His design – not ours. Ouch! Did that last statement hurt a little or what? I mean after all we want what we want, right?

If I am to understand why things don’t happen, I have to look at it through the lens of the Bible. Jesus taught us how to pray in Matthew 6: 9 – 13, the prayer we commonly refer to as the Lord’s Prayer. Part of that prayer was “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” That means we have to give God our “kingdom” and our “will” so they can be replaced with His. We can’t just tell God the way we want our lives to turn out and then expect Him to deliver the blessings. We have to wait on His timing and give up our own agendas.

If you look back at Psalm 40:1 we see David waited patiently and expectantly and he received blessings from God. David waited “expectantly”. I had to look that word up in the dictionary to make sure I knew what it meant. According to Webster’s dictionary the word expectant means:

One who expects; one who waits in expectation; one held in dependence by his belief or hope of receiving some good

David was waiting in expectation of something good. He didn’t cry out to God and then doubt that God had heard him. Nor did he give God the solution to His problem and wait for God to miraculously fix the situation. David knew that God heard his cry and would deliver him in HIS timing, not David’s.

Are you tired of waiting? Trust God to deliver you and set your feet upon a steady rock. While you wait worship Him, praise Him, pray and tell Him exactly how you’re feeling, love Him, serve Him, and trust Him. I know if I focus on Him and His character, I don’t doubt when I think things are taking longer than they should. I count the blessings He has already given me and believe the good that will come while I wait for His perfect timing.

Related Scripture

Isaiah 30:18; 1 Peter 5:6-7; Proverbs 3:5-6; Luke 12:35 – 40

Christ: My refuge, my strength

Psalm 31:3 (NCV) “You are my rock and my protection. For the good of your name, lead me and guide me.”

I love reading through the book of Psalms when I need to be reminded of God’s ever guiding presence and protection as I deal with the “stuff” of this world. I find words there that describe who I am in Christ, who He is (words that describe His character) and what He offers when I come to Him. This morning, I found this example in the first verse of Psalm 31. Here we see David coming to God seeking refuge. David often prayed for God to be his refuge and deliver him from his enemies. David knew he could trust God to be his refuge, and his shelter from danger and distress. David was confident he could find protection and safety in God.

In God, David was confident, safe and protected (who I am in Christ). Why did David know this? Because David trusted God and knew He was a refuge – a safe place (who God is – His character). When David approached (or sought) God for protection, he knew God would lead and guide (what God offers) him in the right direction.

The character of God hasn’t changed since David’s time. God is just as much our refuge and security today. We can find protection in Him just like David did. It is up to us to trust Him completely – with everything we are and everything we have. We can be confident that God is true to His character and will deliver and protect us.