Today, I want to get straight to the point and talk to you about trust. There are many reasons I could be talking about trust, but the one I want to fixate on today is from a little note in my Bible that rests beside the final verses of Psalm 33.
“I can rejoice because I trust.”
Those are my words and not the Word, but I remember when I wrote them. I was in the midst of a season of great doubt. Every prayer I prayed felt as though it was hitting the ceiling and quite frankly, I was angry, tired, upset, frustrated, and most of all, I was hurt.
Somehow, I landed on this Psalm. We all know how that happened, it was by the hand of His leading, moving and working to reveal things that can only be understood through His Spirit.
There I was, sitting in my favorite chair, tears of frustration dried on my cheeks, and I looked down and read the opening lines of Psalm 33.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
It is fitting for the upright to praise him. Psalm 33:1 (NIV)
Well, I could have rolled my eyes like a stubborn child. The last thing I wanted to do was praise the Lord, let alone sing joyfully to Him. Oh, I could sing, but joyfully? No. I wasn’t joyful about anything during this season of my life.
On I read, digging a little deeper. Probably with a resigned sigh of frustration like a teenager who has been told to take out the trash. But as I read, there began an internal dialogue that was pushing me, perhaps even challenging me to dig a little deeper. Even though I didn’t feel the desire to dig, something, or rather, Someone spurred me on. His pursuit was relentless for my heart, though I was blind.
I read through Psalm 33 and paused. Then read through it again and began to underline some phrases—statements of truth that would command my heart to praise Him just like verse one said.
For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. (v.4)
In this I found Him truthful, how then could I doubt?
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry hosts by the breath of his mouth … For he spoke and it came to be; he commanded and it stood firm. (v. 6, 9)
In this I found Him powerful, how then could I doubt?
But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. (v. 11)
In this I found Him faithful, mighty and just, how then could I doubt?
And then as I continued to read, things got personal. This Psalm had talked about the GREAT BIG GOD. The I AM THAT I AM. The One who is too much for us to comprehend, the One who spoke a word and it was so … and then the Psalm shifts, it cuts to the individual heart.
It is amid this shift that I shattered. New tears fell from my eyes as I realized my own pride. Who was I to think I could be frustrated with the Lord or angry with His plans? Certainly, the Lord beckons for us to contend with Him, but when we step into His presence and realize how grand He is (which we really cannot grasp), and when we consider the works of His hands, what other response can there be than to humbly surrender that we had it all wrong?
Read with me these final declarations of Psalm 33.
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine (v. 18-19).
In this, I realized the Lord sees me. He knows me, He pursues me, and He is my hope. He has saved me from death and keeps me from famine, yes, even famine of the spirit where all things seem dry. If He sees and knows me so well, and is on my side when struggles comes, how then could I doubt?
We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. (v. 20)
In this, I was reminded of His protection. He would not let me fall, how then could I doubt?
And finally, the Psalm came to an end. Read these words and let them sink in.
In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us Lord, even as we put our hope in you. (v. 21-22)
Our hope is rooted in the One who created all things and by Him they were made. How then can we doubt? His unfailing love is with us, and that right there is reason enough to return to verse one. “Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.”
See, we may not feel very “upright,” but because of His work on the cross and His free gift of grace we are. And it is for this very work that we can find the foundations of our joy. We can praise Him when we don’t understand. We can be joyful even when it hurts because we know the One who’s plans are far greater than our own.
I don’t know what you are walking through today, but I do want to remind you to fight for praise, fight for joy. And how, you might ask? By trusting the I AM THAT I AM. That BIG GOD is a a personal God and He wants you. There are no coincidences in the Bible and His good, pleasing and perfect will that is illustrated is a guide of a God who is faithful to His people.
So, trust Him. Trust Him with all of it. The hurt, the fear, the depression, the anxiety, the blessed moments, the smiles and laughter, the tears of joy and sadness. All of it. Entrust it to Him.
For trust in the Lord releases joy. And that, my friend, is the kind of joy that changes the world for it is set on hope from above.
How then could we doubt His goodness?
He is good, and it is well. So now, no matter what your circumstances, tears and all, sing His praises today!
