Trusting in tough times

I have just read Psalm 57, and am struck by this; David has complete trust in God, eventhough he was in great anguish - he was literally scared for his life. Talk about a tough situation!

Psalm 57:

 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
    for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
    till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
    to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
    he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

4 My soul is in the midst of lions;
    I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
    whose tongues are sharp swords.

5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!

6 They set a net for my steps;
    my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way,
    but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
    my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
8     Awake, my glory![b]
Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the clouds.

11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!

This psalm was written by David when Saul was chasing him and trying to kill him. David was actually hiding in a cave, which couldn't of been very pleasant, yet, this psalm is full of worship!

Eventhough David was in deep despair, he honoured and glorified God; 'I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.' 

Do we do the same when we're hurting, scared, feeling lonely or got at? 

It's a challenge isn't it when times are tough, to recognise if God is even there? 

We can question - does He exist? Can he hear me? Does He even care? Can't He see what i'm going through?

But, what are we really questioning?

Are we questioning God or our faith in God?

To answer the first part, either God is real or He isn't. This doesn't depend on whether things are going well or not in our lives. 

So, is our faith in God strong enough to recognise that things may not always work out the way we want, but that's ok? Can we accept that God might have a different plan even if we don't like it? Even if you don't hear His voice in the midst of it or see Him doing something, can you trust that He's still there?

David did.

He had faith that there is a God, and a good one at that. He realised that it doesn't actually matter what circumstances we are in, God is still present and worthy of praise.

David had absolute certainty that God is real, and that He was there with him, that God is good and that He will work things out. David had faith that the future will be better than the now. 

It takes a brave person to completely trust in God, it means letting go of what we understand.

 

Is my faith, and is your faith strong enough to trust and praise God even if we can't see an end to the tough situation?