Friends in Christ Message for June 25, 2005

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Friends in Christ Weekly Message
June 25, 2005

Long enough, God -
     you've ignored me long enough.
I've looked at the back of your head
     long enough. Long enough
I've carried this ton of trouble,
     lived with a stomach full of pain.
Long enough my arrogant enemies
     have looked down their noses at me.
Take a good look at me, God, my God;
     I want to look life in the eye,
So no enemy can get the best of me
     or laugh when I fall on my face.
I've thrown myself headlong into your arms -
     I'm celebrating your rescue.
I'm singing at the top of my lungs,
     I'm so full of answered prayers.
Psalm 13 (Message*)

One of the beauties of the Psalms is that they show the full range of human emotions being offered up to God. This is a prayer in which David pours out what he is feeling. He is conversational with God; able to express his frustrations and feeling of abandonment by God freely.

In pouring out our frustrations and emotions - even anger at God Himself - in our prayers, something amazing can happen. The intimacy of our conversation can bring us back to why this intimacy with God is so important to us - God loves us and will do wonderful things for us. In these few short lines, David moves from upbraiding God for ignoring him to celebrating God's faithfulness at the top of his lungs. He enters the prayer weighed down and troubled, but leaves it exultant and confident.

What was possible for David is possible for us. May we bring our full selves, including our frustrations and negative feelings, to God. May we speak to Him intimately as our closest friend, and come to exult in the hope of His promises and the knowledge of his faithfulness to us.

Bill Samuel