Psalm 119 - 11 - Kaph - Faith in the Silence

"(Kaph) I am worn out waiting for Your rescue,
but I have put my hope in Your Word.
My eyes are straining to see Your promises come true.
When will You comfort me?
I am shriveled like a wineskin in the smoke,
but I have not forgotten to obey Your decrees.
How long must I wait?
When will You punish those who persecute me?
These arrogant people who hate Your instructions
have dug deep pits to trap me.
All Your commands are trustworthy.
Protect me from those who hunt me down without cause.
They almost finished me off,
but I refused to abandon Your commandments.
In Your unfailing love, spare my life;
then I can continue to obey Your laws." (Psalm 119: 81-88)  

Dear friend, Notes from "Kaph": unlikely pairings

• suffering and perseverance
• despair and hope
• impatience and patience
• unanswered prayer and unwavering faith

     Living a life of faith in God does not preclude us from suffering. Nor does praying guarantee that we will always get what we ask. Sometimes we see answers to prayer. Sometimes we face only silence. Yet, even in silence we can know that God is good. His love is unfailing. We can ask. We can even ask the difficult questions of God, "Why...?".
     God is not obliged to answer. He does not serve us. Often we forget that He is the Creator and we are His creation, and we make demands. We want WHAT we want WHEN we want it. He wants us to place our faith in Him. He wants us to want Him, not want what He can do for us. We often have to rearrange our perspective: Who is serving whom? Or, who is serving Whom?
     Sadly, some people begin to follow God and pray to Him, but abandon Him when He is silent, or when He answers contrary to their desires. In the end, we see that if God is not going to meet all their "needs," they will not serve Him.
     Again in Psalm 119 we are faced with uncomfortable truths, and with choices.   

• Why do you believe?
• Will you believe at all times and in all circumstances?
• Have you a proper Creator/creation mindset?

Heavenly Father, We admit that we are so often self-focused that we want You to work in our way, on our timetable. Yet, that makes You our servant, and not our Lord. These are difficult truths to handle. Will You enable us to live by faith, even in the silence? 

"Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.  Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn't have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seed fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty and even a hundred times as much as had been planted.! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand...

"Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: the seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's Word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God's Word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God's Word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!" (Matthew 13: 3-9, 18-23)