Hi there. I am Dr. Gilbert Soo Hoo, welcoming you back for the twelfth episode of our series of talks on the topic, “My Work, Career, and Vocation.” In the previous episode, we looked at one inescapable reality of life. Life doesn’t always go according to plan or expectation. When things turn out the way we plan, expect or hope for, we’re delighted, satisfied, may be even taking some credit for our success due to our intelligence, careful planning, or even luck. There are those who believe in luck. Instead, we Christians tend to give God credit for making things turn out well. We prayed and God heard and answered our requests. He is good and loving.

But sometimes things don’t turn out as expected. And when they don’t, we’re naturally disappointed or frustrated, worse we get angry or even bitter and cynical. Some of us may even think that life is generally not fair because things don’t turn out well for us, it’s a tiresome pattern repeated more times than we care to remember. Then we wonder about the promise of God’s blessings and benevolence. And we wonder about God, whether he is as loving and kind as the Bible claims.

We read some of the so-called lament psalms in our Bible and think there’s someone else who has experienced what we’re going through and they’re able to put their thoughts and feelings into poetic words. There’s cold comfort in reading those psalms because we don’t see an immediate end to our problems. At least, we’re not alone or unique in our hardship. There are others who may have had it worse. Unlike David there’s no Saul trying to do us in. But maybe it’s our boss or management or the system. We feel like a victim, helpless. The odds are against us. Can’t escape.

When we read about David being on the run, trying to allude Saul’s grasp, we read several chapters. It can be a quick read. We may have the impression, “That’s not so bad.” David remains alive and eventually becomes king after Saul meets his end. But David didn’t know that. He couldn’t skip the chapters, like we can, and go read the ending. A few times after a close call he thought that he may die.

As we read the lament psalms, we resonate with David’s complaint, “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13, verse 1). Wow. These are strongly worded and the pathos revealed are so raw. He dares to accuse God of forgetting him, of hiding from him, ignoring his pleas for deliverance. There’s a lot of angst, raw emotions. So human. Like us. Do we ever feel like yelling at God: “Why are you taking so long to answer me, to change my situation? Don’t you love me anymore? Aren’t you supposed to be good? Don’t you answer prayers?” We then ask, “What kind of God are you?”

David expresses frustration, confusion, discouragement, disappointment with God. Yes. We can relate. But hasn’t David crossed the line? Complaining to and even accusing God. We may have done that. Yet, we may feel a tinge of guilt. Who am I to ignore proper decorum before God? Am I not being disrespectful? Have I not sinned in my heart and perhaps with my mouth? Won’t God hold me responsible? Will I not face the consequences? But wait a moment. This psalm is in the Bible. God put it there. So it’s the word of God. What are we to conclude? Perhaps God is assuring us that it’s OK to have such strong feelings and to express them out loud. He won’t be offended. In fact, he may welcome it. But we have to make a critical observation. The psalms are like prayers directed to God. So when David complains and moans, he’s communicating with God, telling him how he David really feels and thinks. Tells God what he thinks about the Lord to his face. This communication is a dialog. David doesn’t complain about God to someone else, speaking about God in the third person. He’s not talking about God behind God’s back. He is complaining to God in a face-to-face manner. The lines of communication remain open, depicting a faith that’s vibrant and deep. He’s not giving up on God but is clinging to him out of desperation.

This realization opens up possibilities for us to consider. Feelings of frustration, confusion, doubt, puzzlement, even anger, are human emotions. When we harbor such emotions, we’re not doing something alien to our DNA. They are natural responses to things that happen to us, sometimes terrible things. But do we follow David’s example and tell God openly, honestly how we really feel? We don’t pretend things are OK when they’re not. We don’t complain about God to someone else, as if behind his back. We tell him upfront. The most functional relationships are open, honest, sincere, hiding no secrets. The fact these kinds of psalms and words are in the Bible encourages us that even if our situation does not change for the better, at least for the time being, we can still be in God’s presence and be in relationship with him. Like David we may not sense God’s nearness or feel his love at times. Then we tell God. In doing so, we’re deepening our faith in him. We’re turning to him and not turning away from him. We’re staying close to our God. Faith means we continue to function and go about our lives even if we don’t sense God’s nearness or have any affirming, tangible signs of his presence.

As we read about David, we notice something. God did not hasten the process of rescuing David. Instead, God protects him from Saul repeatedly even though David is not always aware. God has a timetable to which David has no access, that is, he doesn’t know what’s going to happen next. Of course, he hopes for the best and keeps his wits about him in order to avoid Saul. What David may have forgotten in the intensity of the moment is that God has already indicated that David will replace Saul. Even had the prophet Samuel anoint him to be the next king. That’s the primary reason Saul is after him, seeing him as a threat to his rule. God’s plan for David is a guarantee that David will not only survive Saul but he will replace Saul. It’s a definite. So David will not die.

In the intensity of our moment, what sort of guarantee do we have that God will not abandon us but still loves us? Well, for sure we know that his love does not spare us from enduring difficulties, pain, uncertainty, and a whole assortment of negative emotions. Life is not smooth, messy at times. The challenge is that we may not understand why he permits these difficulties. We might ask why didn’t God simply get rid of Saul right away and install David as king? The Bible story does not tell us. So we’re left to make an educated guess. Having mentioned God’s timetable earlier, we conjecture that it’s a timing issue. God’s master plan calls for a sequence of events over a time period. Thus, as it was for David so also it is for us. We may not know God’s timetable but we acknowledge his authority to map his plan in our lives.

Returning to our original question, what guarantee do we have of God’s love and benevolence toward us especially when we’re going through an intense period with the accompanying emotions that rock our sense of wellbeing? Well, it depends on our relationship with God. Do we have one? Is he our God whom we call heavenly Father? The picture of a loving father and his child is a reassuring one. The child has innate trust. They don’t question their father’s love or ability to provide for all their needs. They don’t worry about tomorrow. Does that picture describe our relationship with our heavenly Father?

Another thought comes from the Bible that can describe our lives. There are times when God intentionally places an obstacle or challenge in our path through which we must go. His purpose is to strengthen and deepen us. Help us to grow and gain maturity, to gain experience. The analogy of sports or exercise illustrates the principle. Let’s say we’re out of shape and want to become fit, healthy, with more endurance. So we start out and quickly discover that we have little to no endurance at all. After jogging a short distance, we’re out of breath, gasping for air, and our legs feel wobbly. At this point, we have to decide what to do next. Do we give up and quit, saying it’s too difficult? Or do we tough it out, keep at it, staying within our capacity by jogging slowly for short distances. Over time, our endurance improves; we can run longer.

That’s what God does. He makes us work through the challenge, toughening us up. We don’t give up. Instead of physical growth, God pushes us to grow spiritually in our faith. We persevere keeping our focus on the goal, becoming more mature. Enduring the frustrations, disappointments, the negative emotions and all the while trusting in God to pull us through give us greater confidence in God’s grace and provision. We don’t have to like it; but we can appreciate the value of such trials.

Next time we will look at coexisting with life’s glitches and failures. But for now, I close episode 12 of our series on work, career, and vocation. Until then have a safe and fulfilling day.

Questions and Comments

1. Recall a time of frustration. Was your frustration directed toward the situation or toward God?

2. In difficulties, what promises from the Bible can you claim?

3. What challenge did you face that deepened your faith?