1 With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. 2 I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. – Psalm 142:1-2
We can believe that Jesus is a personal God without ever putting it into practice. In the frustrations we find ourselves, we must have the courage to turn to Him, letting His presence be felt practically. We can know the comforter without feeling His comfort. When times are difficult, these are the best times to bare our souls to Him. Perhaps it is spiritual attack or naivety on our part that keeps us from taking those steps. Perhaps we think we can handle this life on our own. Whatever the reason, sometimes the end of our rope is the beginning of our relationship with our comforter.
And this is uncomfortable
No one likes to be in need. We generally feel guilty, unworthy, and embarrassed when we struggle. We believe the lies of the enemy that say desperation is unbecoming and to need is to be weak. Yet, Christ always celebrates weakness in every form. It is the stubborn and unrelenting who win His frustration, not the weak and broken. We have missed the aggressive peace of our savior. The upside down Gospel that celebrates those who plead to Him. We treat Him as our only hope because He is just that, our only and our hope.
So what about those catchy passages that celebrate our strength? These are birthed from weakness. Any strength we do find is through Him alone. We are but toddlers with an army behind us. The sooner we properly recognize our weakness, the sooner we humbly recognize our strength.
May every prayer be one of mercy. May your trouble lead you to a deeper faith.
Matt simon blog 