Getting real with God

Every day we're reading or listening to part of the Bible together and sharing thoughts with you. Today it’s Emma Simmonds:

What did I like about today’s passage?

How real David was with God. There was no stiff upper lip here, just absolute despair and devastation. Admittedly things were pretty bad…. He is hiding in a cave which sounds horrendous, feeling totally alone, being hunted by Saul who really does want to kill him and has the full machinery of the state behind him, you can understand why his hope has deserted him...

Phrases such as:

‘My spirit grows faint within me’

‘I have no refuge; no one cares for my life’

‘I am in desperate need’

… are not phrases I have ever had cause to utter in quite the same way as David did. Psalms 142 and 143 really do put things in perspective! David’s relationship with God in this dark place is inspiring and humbling.

He pleads with God… ‘answer me quickly’…‘Do not hide your face from me’

But through all of this is a narrative of total trust and expectation – that God is with him and will respond. It’s not questionable… it’s fact. The maturity of his faith in these psalms is humbling and inspiring.

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

That we can expect him to respond.

That being able to verbalise how we feel is important and he wants us to share our raw, naked, ugly, desperate feelings with him when the seeming chaos around us has brought us to the point of despair.

What am I going to do differently as a result?

I’m going to try to express more readily and honestly how I feel with God and with others.

It’s important to be real about situations, while preserving our trust in God.

Who am I going to share this with?

My housemates.