When Something Is Missing Part 2

Yesterday's story was the opening to my message on Sunday from the 13th Psalm. I tried to bring out the idea that the Psalm lacks what I would consider a climax (as introductory story). We have David lamenting the fact that it feels like God has abandoned him and that his enemies are going to triumph. The tension builds as David cries out to God for an answer. Without an answer he surely will die and all his enemies will celebrate his demise. All this brings us to the point in the psalm where we want a climax. We want the answer to come, a solution to arise, and the enemy to be defeated. In short, we want God to step into the story and do something.

Yet, God never steps into the story. We're expecting a climatic moment for God's power to be displayed, and what we get is something very anti-climatic. We get nothing. After all the build up, David ends the psalm by declaring that he will continue to trust, rejoice, and sing for God has been good. He goes from complaining that God has forgotten him to singing because God is God, and nothing in the story has changed.

My point I felt was simple to understand, but harder to accept. God can and does still answer prayer. There are climatic points in our lives were we need God to step in and he does just that. However, and I can't explain why, there are other times when God chooses not to step in. Moments where we desperately need God, and he remains silent. The climax of our story doesn't come. When that happens, we're left with a choice. Is faith in God dependent upon him doing things for us, or is it based on belief? Belief that he is God both when he steps into our story and when he chooses not.

Maybe it just resonated with me, but I thought it was a good word.

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