Building a Stronger Faith With the Psalmsናሙና

We use the word "love" for a lot of things. But at the end of the day, the most important thing we need to know is that God's love is not like our love.

One Hebrew word in the Old Testament, especially the Psalms, describes God's affection and commitment to His people: hesed. This word means "steadfast love" or "covenant love." Hesed is one of the most significant and essential words in the Old Testament.

As I've wrestled with doubts at different points in my life with God, the concept of hesed has repeatedly brought me back to an important truth. So, here is the fourth and final principle I want to share with you in this plan. Your doubt is temporary, while God's covenant love is eternal.

David speaks of this in Psalm 13 when he writes, "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation."

David doesn't turn from his doubts because God's actions change or God answers his questions. David returns to God's unshakable character and commitment because God's love for him remains.

God's steadfast love is a recurring theme throughout the Old Testament, including Psalms 108 and 145. The people continued to speak of God's love because it was far more consistent than they were. Like an anchor in a storm, God's hesed (love) was the one thing that didn't shift or move with the passing of time or new events.

When I think about human doubts and God's hesed, I think about my experience with doubts at the beginning of my career. I graduated from seminary in the middle of the Great Recession. I served part-time on staff at a church during my seminary years, hoping that a full-time position would open up by the time I graduated. But, after many months of waiting and a staff-wide salary reduction, my wife finally convinced me to look for work elsewhere. I ended up finding a second and a third job. I worked for 45 straight days during one period, sometimes pulling shifts at all three jobs in one day.

I was exhausted physically, discouraged emotionally, and growing cynical spiritually.

Where was God in all of this?! I had graduated from seminary and was ordained as a pastor. Yet, a 20-year-old with a high school degree trained me to make caramel frappuccinos. My pride and entitlement were out of control at that point!

God used many difficult days to humble me, teach me about the power of gratitude, and strengthen my prayer life. I worked at the church and the coffee shop for over a year. My faith grew more robust, and we paid off over $20,000 in credit card debt.

As I look back on that period, I see that my doubts were born because of my perception of God's activity, but my faith grew stronger because of my experience of God's character.

In Psalm 13, David shifts from doubts to strengthened faith in six short verses. Our movement through those stages may take weeks, months, or years for you and me. The amount of time is insignificant, but the format should encourage us. We cannot rush the process of wrestling with God and strengthening faith. You cannot rush God. So, what if you stopped measuring God using a clock and started using a calendar? What if you stopped asking, "God, why are you allowing this?" and started asking, "God, who are you in the middle of this?"

We may doubt God's actions, but we can rediscover trust because of God's character.

We develop a stronger faith when we discover God's eternal love during our temporary challenges.

As this plan concludes, I pray that you will one day be able to say, like King David, "I will sing the Lord's praise, for he has been good to me."

God is good. All the time!

If you enjoyed this plan and would like more practical resources to help you overcome doubt and build a stronger faith, click here to download a complimentary copy of my Overcoming Doubt Action Plan.