Jason Silver

Saturday, September 24th, 2022

Fear of Faith

One thing I love about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God of Moses, David, and Jason Silver, is that he doesn't seem to mind it when we call out to him in confusion and even anger.

Consider the first sentence of today's Psalm: "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?"

Obviously, God will not forget us, but sometimes, from our perspective, it seems like we're not at the forefront of his mind! Not only is it normal to think that God has moved on and forgotten us in our pain and despair; he is perfectly fine with us expressing that fear!

But to do so has become taboo among many of us. We wonder if maybe we shouldn't complain to God? We worry that by expressing our true and honest feelings, we are abandoning our faith!

As a result, our faith is propped up by fear, not hope.

This was not how the great heroes of the Bible behaved! Rather, they are credited with great faith despite often admitting their anger, frustration, and disappointment with God.

I'm convinced that God doesn't want us to just pretend that everything is fine. I believe that when we struggle, he prefers our honesty. Remember, he knows our hearts better than we know them ourselves, so acting like everything is fine when it's not, is actually dishonesty before God. We put on artificial spirituality because our faith is weak, not strong.

When your enemies rejoice in your bad circumstances, and when you are fighting sorrow and pain in your soul all day long, just as King David did in today's psalm, go get on your knees. Tell God how he's let you down! And then, like David, remember how God has dealt bountifully with you in the past, and worship him! Thank him for listening, loving, and directing you along his path.

Amen.