After the psalmist acknowledged that God gave them victories against their enemies, he cried out to God for mercy because it seemed that God had rejected them. God was no longer going after their enemies, and they were defeated. Here is what the psalmist prayed, "All this has happened though we have not forgotten you. We have not violated your covenant. Our hearts have not deserted you. We have not strayed from your path. Yet you have crushed us in the jackal's desert home. You have covered us with darkness and death. If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread our hands in prayer to foreign gods, God would surely have known it, for he knows the secrets of every heart. But for your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep." The psalmist acknowledged their faithfulness to God, yet God allowed their defeat from their enemies.
There are many things that God does or allows in our lives that we do not understand. Sometimes, we doubt God's goodness and love towards us because we can't understand what He is doing in our lives. Others will blame God or even walk away from their faith in the Lord. When our expectations of God do not match what God does, we can either doubt his goodness, resent Him, or continue to believe that He has a purpose and plan in our situation. When Job lost everything because God allowed Satan to take everything away from him, including his children and possessions, to prove Job's faithfulness to God, Job never lost his faith in God, although he couldn't understand why all these bad things happened to him. In the end, God restored his life by giving him new children and restoring his possessions. God can allow storms in our lives even when we are faithful to Him, and this is something that many people struggle with. The reason is that we have an expectation that if we are good and obedient to His will, God will protect us from any suffering. But this is not a right understanding of God. We will still suffer, but God will be with us, walking us through it.
God always loves us, and there is not a moment that He abandons. Even when we are disobedient against Him, God is always working in our hearts to repent and return to Him. No matter what we are going through, never stop believing in the Lord, for in due time, He is going to rescue us. God is our eternal hope. Hang in there and never give up on our faith in Him.
Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you). Do I doubt God's goodness in my life at this moment? Why do I doubt God's goodness? What should I do when I doubt God's goodness?
Write down all the worries you face today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, please help my doubt. There are many things that you do or allow in my life that I do not understand. Please help me to trust you. Please touch my heart and give me the assurance that you are with me. Thank you for your promise to me that you will never leave or forsake me. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.