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Why Is This Happening?
John TiltonPsalm 44:17-26
All this came upon us, though we had not forgotten you; we had not been false to your covenant. Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path. But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals; you covered us over with deep darkness. If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart? Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever. Why do you hide your face
and forget our misery and oppression? We are brought down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. Rise up and help us; rescue us because of your unfailing love.
I read in Joshua today of how the Israelites’ obedience to God’s commands would bring them favor and His covering, as they pondered all of God’s faithful and provisional intercessions on their behalves throughout their decades long journey. It gave me such a feeling of gratitude of what God has done in my life, encouraging me to strive for the utmost in obedience.
Then, as I read on in Psalm 44, the psalmist is beseeching God to intercede in their situation and calamity, as he questions why God has seemingly turned away from them in “rejection,” “hiding” His face and forgetting their “misery and oppression?” The psalmist states how they felt they were so faithful in remembering and following the Lord and not straying from Him. Why is this happening?
The key words I also read are “for your sake we face death,” and “rescue us because of your unfailing love.”
We know that only God knows the present and the future. We also don’t know his master plan or his reasoning as to why certain things happen that we can’t understand or explain. Thus, like the psalmist, things and situations may sometimes appear to be unfair or inconsistent. However, as Jesus was called to sacrifice his life for ours, I believe that some may often be called to go through situations for His sake and that our faith in His unfailing love extends to eternity. What transpired with Jesus coming and His sacrifice extends the timeline of what life is; life is eternity if we know Jesus as our savior. Therefore, our perseverance to accept what comes our way, yet do our best in prayer and effort to deal with what is dealt to us, with faith and love in Christ, WILL always bring us victory. Why? Victory is not only defined in what transpired today or in this life, since our life on earth is but a scratch on a line that extends endlessly in both directions. Victory in terms of God needs to be defined in eternity and how we follow in obedience and faithfulness throughout time, as it even extends into eternity because of Jesus.
So to answer the question, when we endure hard times and challenges … What is this happening? The answer is, God guiding our eyes to focus on Jesus and the eternal in love and faith for His sake and His will through all things and situations, as God’s covering and faithfulness spans eternity, not just our temporal life on earth. We can usually suffer a momentary challenge. It’s when challenges continue that we may feel deserted. Yet, God is still there guiding us through His word to persevere for “His sake.” This is because God’s timeline is eternal. We need to see and understand this.
Dear Lord, thank you for such keen insight for me in being able to see and sort out why certain things can happen to good people who follow you, and what love, faith and hope in you means.
