By Martin Morrison
It is possible for Christians to become disappointed with God. It is possible for Christians to lose their way. Perhaps life has turned out less like we had hoped or more like we had feared.
- I think of a twenty-five year old man who is in a wheelchair after a car accident. He has to cope with the loss of his fiancé, the loss of his job. He has to cope with the endless unhelpful comments of Christian friends who urge him to have more faith!
- I think of the woman who has just turned forty-eight and is unmarried. She never imagined her future without a husband. She thinks there must be something wrong with her.
- I think of a couple married ten years who have come to the private realization that their marriage is empty. They are trapped by their own vows in a loveless marriage for as long as they both shall live.
What are your disappointments in life. Perhaps unrealized desires. Perhaps unspeakable grief or regret. Perhaps an existential longing for more.
The Psalms answer our questions because the Psalms tell us the truth. The truth is that God is enough. Not God’s blessings. Not God’s protection. Not God’s peace. Not God’s created things. No, God is ultimately all I need. God is enough. That is the theme of Psalm 27 and especially vs. 7 – 8.
“Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! You have said, “Seek my face”. My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord do I seek”.
Life in the trenches, where you and I live, has the tendency to dull our ardour for God; to weaken our grip on God; to cool our love for God. Too often the desires of my heart wander again and again. Too often I choose my kingdom instead of his kingdom. Too often I have eternity amnesia and look for purpose and significance in good things which ultimately will not satisfy. Too often I echo the words of the hymnwriter, “Prone to wander Lord I feel it; prone to leave the God I love”.
You do have options when you are down in the trenches. Despair. Alcohol. Over the counter drugs. Or perhaps countless diversions such as TV, Netflix, SuperSport, video games or relentless social media.
David encourages us to get back to God. Take a long walk and tell him you are desperate! Tell him exactly how you feel! Don’t hold anything back. That’s precisely what David does in verse 7. “Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud”. He is taking a long walk and crying aloud to God. In fact he feels as if God doesn’t hear, so he calls on God for grace and mercy, “Be gracious to me and answer me!”.
Paul David Tripp who has greatly helped me in understanding Psalm 27, wrote this poem.
I have no resume’ to hold before you.
No track record of my accomplishments.
No letters of commendation, no rights of birth or pedigree.
I hold nothing that would place you in my debt.
Nothing that could curry your favour.
Nothing that would obligate you.
I wish unbroken obedience would draw your attention.
I wish model wisdom and model love would convince you that I am worthy.
But I have none of these things to offer you. I stand before you naked and
undeserving, broken and weak.
I am quite aware of the duplicity of my heart, the evil of my choices
and the failure of my behaviour.But I am not afraid because I stand
before you with one argument, with one plea.
This argument is enough. This plea is sufficient.
This argument is the only thing that could ever give me hope.
Your mercy. Your mercy is my rest. Your mercy is my hope. Your mercy is all I need.
Your mercy tells me you will forgive. Your mercy tells me that you will restore.
Your mercy tells me that you will answer.
David puts it like this, “You have said, “Seek my face”. My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek”. Psalm 27:8.
What we have here is a critical principle for spiritual growth. You need to talk to yourself. You need to lecture yourself. Talking to yourself is not a sign of madness. We all have this internal dialogue. We all have an unending conversation with ourselves. No one is more influential in your life than you are. Because no-one talks to you more than you do.
So here in Psalm 27, we are eavesdropping on David’s internal dialogue. David is lecturing himself.
Heart, don’t forget God.
Heart, don’t withdraw from God.
Heart, don’t run away from God.
Heart, don’t avoid God.
Heart, run towards God.
Heart, pursue God.
Heart, seek God’s face.
The reality is that our hearts long for comfort, for ease, for power, for control, for security. But our problem is that we look in the wrong place. The things of this world. The possessions of this world. The experiences of this world. The relationships of this world.
The truth is that none of these things will ever deliver. They are all fallen, all flawed, all transient. None of them can carry the full weight of our eternal expectations.
There is only one antidote. There is no other.
“You have said, “Seek my face”. My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord do I seek”.