Last week, I talked about “Imitation is the highest form of flattery” related to the suffering that we experience in life. There is not anyone that would say that life is easy. Life is hard. There are definitely many wonderful things in life, but there are also hard things in life that we have to struggle through. Sometimes, those moments feel like we are in a quagmire of quick sand with no hard ground in sight nor a lifesaving hand from a friend.
The pain is so deep and intense all we want to do is figure out some way for it to go away.
Usually, we resort to what seems like it will bring relief at the moment. We lash out in anger at whoever is nearest. We indulge in whatever food makes us feel better and continue to indulge until we can’t eat another bite. Maybe we drown our sorrows in alcohol or drugs. Sometimes, we hide away and cry for days and can’t seem to move off the couch or out of bed.
Then what?
After we have lashed out in anger, eaten our way through a container of ice cream, drank to excess or “drugged up” until we pass out, or cried until our eyes are puffy and we have missed a week of life; what is it that we have left? What did all of these things do for the pain? Is the pain still there? Is the sorrow still lingering?
And what do we have to show for it but broken relationships, weight gain and clothes that don’t fit, and chores that still are not done and a boss that is angry because our work still isn’t done.
So what do we do?
David went through many difficult challenges in his life. He is such a good example of how to handle the emotional turmoil that we deal with.
Psalm 13:1 starts with “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?”
Don’t you feel like God has forgotten you and the pain is going to never end? Don’t you just want to ask God how much longer He will make you suffer?
Go ahead and ask Him. Go ahead and tell God how you feel. We feel like God has forgotten us in our pain and in our sorrows. We feel like He doesn’t even care about us and our suffering. “How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psa. 13:1).
God wanted us to see the struggles of David, who was a “man after His own heart,” (Acts 13:22), and how he handled the challenges and the calamities of life. He called out to God. David did not deny how the suffering made him feel, he did not try to hide from the pain. Rather, he took the pain to the Lord and told the Lord how he felt.
Have you done that? Have you told the lord how heavy the burden is? Have you told the Lord how you feel about the situation?
What happens so often is we deny how we feel and try to cover our feelings and pretend we aren’t hurting, or we go to a friend and tell them everything about the situation and how we are feeling. Neither one of these are the solution.
David showed us that we must take all the pain to the Lord and tell Him how we feel. Have you done that?
David asked the Lord, “How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?” (Psalm 13:2). This is how we feel. How much longer is this pain and suffering and sorrow going to go on for?
We don’t know the answer, but God does.
So go to Him and tell Him how you feel. Don’t bury it. Don’t hide it. Don’t drown it. Don’t run away from it. Take the pain to the Lord.
