Where Will God’s Light Lead?

Vindicate me, my God,
    and plead my cause
    against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
    deceitful and wicked.
² You are God my stronghold.
    Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
    oppressed by the enemy?
³ Send me your light and your faithful care,
    let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
    to the place where you dwell.
⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God.

⁵ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

Psalm 43 (NIV)

Yesterday was one of those days. The kind that tempted me to give into discouragement and wonder whether good days will always be followed by discouraging ones.

But this morning, God brought me to this scripture. David, the psalmist in this passage, was struggling with deep discouragement and despair. He felt surrounded by darkness and even asked God, “Why have you rejected me?”

When we are feeling discouraged or confused by life, God welcomes our questions. But rather than allowing hard questions to deconstruct our faith, what if we frame those questions around what we know to be true about God?

Even as David asked God why He rejected him, he remembered that God was his stronghold. He didn’t stay stuck in confusion over God’s character; he asked God to lead him again.

Where will God lead us every time we ask?

Straight back to Him.

Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.

Zechariah 1:3 (NIV)

By surrendering to God’s leading, David found himself drawn close to God again. Though he was asking for God’s deliverance from his difficult circumstances, he seemed to recognize that his true longing was to be near his heavenly Father.

God’s light and faithful care softened David’s heart so that he could praise God again. For when we truly recognize God’s presence, we will worship Him.

Reading a passage like this may feel frustrating if you’re not feeling ready to praise God yet. It may feel like another piece of self-help, urging you to just focus on the bright side and hope things will improve.

But God isn’t asking you to plaster on a smile and just pretend that things are better than they really are. In this psalm, David’s hope wasn’t found in his circumstances–it was found in God’s unchanging character.

The next time you’re facing a moment of brokenness, frustration, or despair, consider following David’s example in this psalm:

• Go before God and confess the troubling questions in your heart.
• Remember God’s character and how He has redeemed situations in the past.
• Ask God to lead you back to Him.
• Praise God for who He is, while holding onto hope that even if your situation remains difficult, it isn’t eternal. Someday, we will be reunited with God forever in a world without pain or sorrow.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17 (NIV)