Praise Him in the Storm

As I read through Psalm 44 today, I was reminded of a song by one of my favorite bands, Casting Crowns.



Sometimes it seems as if we find ourselves in a place where it seems as if God has abandoned us. We can't feel Him, we can't seem to hear Him - it seems as if He has abandoned us. That is what the writer of Psalm 44 is expressing here.

When we reach that point in life, we need to do a couple of things. First of all, we need to look back and remind ourselves of everything that God has done for us in the past. We need to focus on His character and on His goodness and faithfulness. We also need to remember his promises - He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. So why do we sometimes feel as if He isn't with us.

I suppose that as with most things there are a couple of options here. First of all, sometimes God is silent and seems to be removed because He wants to test our Character - because through testing our character is strengthened. We are a work in progress - we are not today the people that God wants us to become. God has great plans for us - plans that often times we are not prepared to fulfill at this moment, but as we learn to trust in God and rely on Him and grow through our trials - we will become ready to fulfill the purpose and plans that God has for us.

Another possibility when God seems to be silent in our lives is that it has more to do with where we are than where God is. There is always the possibility that God has been leading us in one direction and we have been refusing to go in that particular direction. If God is going left, but we want to go right - we will become separated from Him and it will become more difficult to hear his voice.

Through it all, God is the same - yesterday, today and forever. We can and should trust Him - even when we can't see Him. God is God - I am not - I choose to trust Him.