But to You I have cried out, O LORD,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
LORD, why do You cast off my soul?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth;
I suffer Your terrors;
I am distraught.
Your fierce wrath has gone over me;
Your terrors have cut me off. – Psalms 88: 13-16
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
LORD, why do You cast off my soul?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth;
I suffer Your terrors;
I am distraught.
Your fierce wrath has gone over me;
Your terrors have cut me off. – Psalms 88: 13-16
Today’s Reading
Someone close to me has been having a really hard time lately. It seems like nothing can go right. One after another one annoying mishap fell upon another and before they knew it their whole life seemed to be crashing down upon them.
When they came to me for advice my only response was to meditate. Find a quiet space and air your grievances to God. Say everything; how you feel, why you’re mad. Say everything that is flooding out of your heart. But make sure that when you are done talking, you listen.
That is the hard part. It is much easier to talk than to listen.
Sometimes when we get down on our knees and holler out for help we are bombarded by silence.
That really sucks man.
It is not particularly validating to speak your mind and bear your soul only to feel like your words fell on deaf ears. Life can be that way sometimes. We go through hardship after hardship and are forced to ask why. Why is this happening to me? How will I make it through? Why am I being punished? It just doesn’t seem fair!
What I’ve learned is that more often than not we have no idea what is going on in the present. Things happen to us for good and bad, but it is only when things are bad that we start asking about what the purpose of it all was.
Sometimes there is a purpose and sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes what is happening is not our fault at all. Other times we bring it upon ourselves. But when it comes down to it, the present is better lived now and learned from later. Through hindsight we have better understanding. If we just focus on living every single day and finding a way to keep taking steps toward our dreams then the answers will come.
Everything comes to an end, whether it is day or night, noise or silence.
So stay patient and use all the strength that you have to persevere. It may feel like you are all alone on your journey but I promise you, you are not.
Very real talk. You scream out and only hear silence back. It's that moment that sometimes really let's you know that you're not in control. That can be humbling, comforting, or frightening all at once.
ReplyDeleteGreat post man.
Hello Clarence, This is "the real" meat and potatoes of kingdom living. Good stuff!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the advice Clarence! It really is difficult to listen, especially when your mind is fighting against you... thinking about everything and nothing at the same time is SO draining!
ReplyDeleteLuckily, even when we feel like we listen and hear absolutely nothing, we are still not alone. And the answer(s) do come in so many different forms! It is hard but now I am trying to say thank you in advance for the blessing(s) I am about to receive.
Thanks again :)
@Nicole and Yohance: Thank you.
ReplyDelete@Jasmine Saying thank you in advance is so good. It really is a strong confession of faith to do so. Also never forget that you are not your mind. Our minds are great tools that we use to help us get through life. But they are not who we are. We are spirits.
It is important to make that separation and know the difference. Keep listening!