April 29, 2024

Psalm 64.1 (NIV)

Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint.

People never felt belittled by Jesus for their focus on the unimportant. They felt challenged.*

The psalmist seeks protection from the “threats and plots of his enemies,”* which for him was a real and present danger – a far cry from the reality of our lives. But then, most of us are our own worst enemies!

Even though my complaints may sound suspiciously like whining, still God listens. And cares. My gripes may be petty and seem to be beneath his regard, and the things that make me happy may be small as well, but God doesn’t roll his eyes and say, “Big deal.” He shares in my joy and in my whining. He provides the grand and awesome blessings as well as the tiny grace notes of life.

It is amazing that he wants to hear from us, but he is big enough to handle our complaints. We are not going to shake him up or cause him to question himself or have a crisis of faith. We can pray our feelings honestly. “Directing our complaining to God is actually an act of trust.”*

When once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely, we never need sympathy, we can pour out all the time without being pathetic.*