How Long, O Lord?

Will the Lord cast off forever?

And will He be favorable no more?

Has His mercy ceased forever?

Has His promise failed forevermore?

Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?

Selah.

Psalm 77:7-9

I don't know what was going on in the heart and life of Asaph the Psalmist, nor in Israel, when he wrote this Psalm. And I don't know how my circumstances, past, present or future, stack up against his. But I know that every time I read these words they resonate in me. Because sometimes I wonder...

Have I been too bad for too long, that I have lost my last chance?

Have I gone too far, done too much, that I cannot now or ever reclaim those things that are lost to me?

Have I made one too many mistakes, committed one too many transgressions?

Have I gone left too many times when I knew I should have gone right?

Have I so offended God, that no matter how much I cry and plead and beseech, He will not give ear to my prayer?

God, do you know what's been done to me?

Can you see how wounded and broken and in need of healing I am?

While you sit on your throne far removed from my mortal coil, do you care what really happens to me?

Is my heart important to you at all?

Life is full of questions. For the ones who don't know God, and even for the ones who know Him and don't care what He thinks, it is easy to simply make choices and go on with life no matter the results or consequences. Someone once shrugged to me and said, "There is no right or wrong; just choices we make, good or bad, and we learn from them and move on." Of course, that was said as they were walking out of my life. When you don't love the Lord enough to care what He thinks, you don't have difficult decisions to make. You just do what feels right, what pleases you, what appears to make you happy and satisfy your momentary appetites. And the world around us says that's okay.

But for those who love the Lord, He must be involved in every choice, every decision, no matter how large or small. It is good to ask the Lord for His permission; better still to seek His will. And when necessary, it is even alright to seek His forgiveness. The point being, He wants us to come to Him with our questions, our concerns, our griefs, our worries, and our fears.

He says, "Cast all your cares on me; I care for you!"

He says, "Don't worry about anything, rather pray about everything! Make your requests of me, and I will give you peace."

He says, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest."

We wonder sometimes, and we ask the questions, but the Word gives us the answers. God hears, and He understands. He is able and willing to reach down and touch us where we are, to be gracious to His children. He just says, "Come."

Well, Lord, I'm coming. I'm coming in faith believing. I'm coming with boldness before your throne of grace to find help and mercy because I'm in need. I'm asking in faith, I'm asking in the Name of Jesus, I'm asking without wrath or doubting. I'm not asking for my own selfish reasons, nor to fulfill my own desires. I'm not asking amiss. I'm asking because it's the only thing I can do that I know will work. I'm gonna ask and keep on asking. I'm gonna seek and keep on seeking. I'm gonna knock and keep on knocking. And I know that whatever you answer, whatever your let me find, whatever door you open to me...will be the right one.