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Pastor's Column

When faith feels like it’s not enough

  What happens when faith doesn’t seem to be enough? When our past experiences of God’s goodness don’t match the painful reality we now face? Is God asleep? These are the kinds of raw, honest questions Psalm 44 wrestles with. These are questions I hear people asking especially when we are in the mindset of some kind of trouble.

  The psalm follows a familiar pattern of lament. It begins with a remembrance of God’s past faithfulness, moves into deep sorrow over the present suffering (vv. 10-23), and concludes with a desperate prayer for God’s intervention (vv. 24-26). The people are grappling with a painful truth: they expected victory, but instead, they were crushed.

  They recall how God had once delivered them, not by their own strength but by His mighty hand. “Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes” (v. 5). Yet now, they feel abandoned. 𠇋ut now you have rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies” (v. 9).

  Have you ever felt this way? A parent loses a child to depression or addiction. A marriage that began in the church falls apart. A terminal diagnosis shatters the future. Moments like these leave us asking, “Why, God?”

  Verse 22 is particularly striking: “Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” The psalmists believe they have remained faithful, yet they suffer. The covenant doesn’t seem to be working as expected. Paul later quotes this verse in Romans 8:36, acknowledging that suffering is a reality for God’s people. But then he declares the greater truth:

  “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:37-39).

  The people in Psalm 44 cry out, 𠇊wake, Lord! Why do you sleep?” (v. 23). They feel forgotten, desperate for God to act. We, too, long for God’s intervention. Sometimes all we can pray is, 𠇌ome, Lord Jesus.” But even in the waiting, even in the suffering, we cling to hope.

  This is why worship matters. We don’t just gather to celebrate victories; we gather to lament losses. We need each other. We need to remind one another of God’s faithfulness, even when we don’t feel it. Because faith is not just about understanding—it’s about trust.

  Jesus knew this. He hung on the cross, dehydrated, broken, and in pain. And yet, He entrusted Himself to the Father. He told us, “I am the living water; whoever comes to me will never thirst” (John 7:37). If you are struggling please know that the church Christ built is there for all, especially in the struggle.

May worship be a priority this week and every one thereafter.

 


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