Songs of the Soul: A Lent DevotionalSample

Imagine a time when you feel like you are languishing. Feeling a pain that is both chronic and acute, weakening you as each day goes by. Maybe it is an ongoing, long-term physical pain, or a mental or spiritual one. Slowly but surely, bitterness and resentment start to creep into your life. Until one moment you realize that you no longer remember how it feels to have peace and joy, as if they have been robbed from you.

This description may feel familiar to those who have experienced feeling trapped in an unwanted situation, acute and long enough that questions start to arise: “What did I do to deserve this?” “Why is this happening to me?” “Where is God when I want Him to fix my life?” “Does God love me?” “Does He even care about me and my family’s wellbeing?”

“But you, O Lord –– how long?” This same question was raised by David in the midst of his spiritual weakness and pain. The reason why he uttered this specific line is unclear, but I can very much resonate with his groaning. There are instances where I feel trapped, situations where I feel like a victim. Facing the daily reality of this world marked by sins often brings me feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.

Yet, the Scripture today reminds me that we can come to God with our questions. Reading the rawness of David’s emotions brings me comfort, knowing that every human being in this world has experienced struggles that only God can solve. In fact, coming to Him with our questions is an act of faith in itself, saying to God that He is the only One who is powerful enough to deliver us.

David’s rhetorical question shows that perhaps knowing when our struggle will end will not bring us true comfort or healing. But it is in the act of coming to Him, admitting our own brokenness and the brokenness of this world, knowing that He is a God who hears us and accepts our prayers, that is the true source of healing.

Jesus is our God who had come into this world to experience the truest and darkest consequence of sin Himself. He hears us and He understands. Whenever we find ourselves languishing in difficult situations, let us come to Him and ask Him to reveal to us the greater depth of His Steadfast Love for us and this world.

Mike Dorothea
Young Adult Ministry

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for hearing my prayers and for showing me Your Steadfast Love through Jesus who had suffered alongside me. Thank You for allowing me to come to You with my questions and for being my True Source of Healing. In Jesus’s Most Precious Name, I pray, Amen.