I have written a lot lately about going through hard times when all seems bleak and there seems to be no hope. I have written as well about those times being ones where we need to cling to the rock of Jesus and wait.
In such hard times we can hear from others that we need to worship more, or focus on God. And we all know that. But sometimes we need to just sit in our darkness and desolation and wait for God.
As I prayed and reflected on this blog, my thoughts were drawn to the way the old hymns were worded and how people in past centuries took comfort in their faith. I am drawing my thoughts from an old hymn book I own. There is a section in it labelled “trust and resignation” and I am drawing highlights from the hymns contained in this section.
The first that caught my attention was an old Lutheran Hymn by Georg Neumark. This was written in the 17th century and was translated into English in the 19th century by Catherine Winkworth. The first and fourth verse are as follows:
“If thou but suffer God to guide thee, And hope in Him through all thy ways, He’ll give thee strength, whate’er betide thee, and bear thee through the evil days; Who trusts in God’s unchanging love Builds on the rock that nought can move.”
“Sing, pray and keep His ways unswerving; So do thine own part faithfully, And trust His word, though undeserving, Thou yet shalt find it true for thee; God never yet forsook at need the soul that trust Him indeed.”
What I love about these words is the encouragement to persevere in faith, worship and hope. To persevere in trusting God. As well as encouraging us, these words remind us that this perseverance builds on the rock that we cling to and reminds us that nobody and nothing can move that rock.
Another one that I found encouraging was by John Campbell Shairp, writing in the 19th century. The first two verses are below:
“’Twixt gleams of joy and clouds of doubt, Our feelings come and go; Our best estate is tossed about In ceaseless ebb and flow. No mood of feeling, form of thought, Is constant for a day; But Thou, Or Lord, Thou changest not: the same Thou art always.”
“I grasp Thy strength, make it mine own, My heart with peace is blest; I lose my hold, and then comes down Darkness, and cold unrest. Let me no more my comfort draw From my frail hold of Thee, In this alone rejoice with awe They mighty grasp of me.”
What I found encouraging about this hymn was the hymnist’s acknowledgement that no feeling is constant and that he is bound to fail when he tries to grasp God’s strength in his own strength. He is still trying too hard to make himself feel better, rather than waiting on God to fill him with those feelings.
Another interesting aspect of this hymn, which is shared by others in this section, is the focus Christians in past centuries had on being in heaven. There seemed to be an acceptance of the hardships and often misery of life and their faces were turned to heaven. It is a different way of looking at things.
My final hymn is one by Augustus Montague Toplady. He lived in the 18th century and wrote a number of hymns, the most well known today is “Rock of Ages”.
The hymn I am discussing “Your harps ye trembling saints” is based on Psalm 137 which speaks of the exiles in Babylon hanging their harps on the willows in a foreign land. This hymn starts speaking of the trembling saints taking their harps down from the willows and singing praise to God. He acknowledged that here in this world we are in a foreign land but our home with God in heaven is not far away and every moment we are alive we are one moment closer to being with Him. Again the emphasis is on the life to follow.
The last four verses are the ones I particularly wish to discuss. They are as follows:
“When we in darkness walk, Nor feel the heavenly flame, Then is the time to trust our God, and rest upon His Name.”
“Soon shall our doubts and fears Subside at His control; His loving-kindness shall break through The midnight of the soul.”
“Wait till the shadows flee; Wait thy appointed hour; Wait till the Bridegroom of thy soul Reveals His love with power.”
“Blest is the man, O God, That stays himself on Thee; Who wait for Thy salvation, Lord, Shall They salvation see.”
I find it helpful to read of the difficulties others feel. Walking in darkness, not feeling God, being in the “midnight of the soul”. The hymnist encourages us to trust God and reminds us that God will break through our darkness. And of course, he encourages us to wait for our salvation.
I know many find waiting for the salvation to come is not encouraging when in times of darkness. I totally agree. However, I do find it interesting that people of previous centuries had a different approach to their life of faith. Maybe this is something that we could meditate on. Not necessarily when we are experiencing the dark night of the soul, but at other times when things seem better.
For me the overarching message of these hymns is that people have always experienced times of darkness and despair. And the message has always been the same. Trust in God and cling to the rock. Just hang on. Don’t fight. Don’t try to fix it. Just wait for God and trust in Him.
 

Psalm 74.
“You walked off and left us, and never looked back. God, how could you do that? We’re your very own sheep; how can you stomp off in anger?” v1 The Message.

This psalm is a hard one to digest. There is no hope. It is a lament at how God appears to have deserted His people and left them to a terrible attack. There is no comfort in this and the questions remain unanswered. The purpose of this psalm appears to be a source of lament when that is needed.
Being able to sit with hardship and receive no respite or explanation is hard. It is not part of what people often imagine faith in God involves. For those stuck in such times there may be little support. Others often rush to fill the air with platitudes. To tell you unhelpful things like “it is meant to be” “it is for your own good” and so on. But these are not helpful.

Feeling abandoned by God is very hard.

As a child, growing up in an abusive household, and being bullied at school, there was nowhere safe. I have lost track of the hours I spent asking God to save me from it. But He never did. It has had an effect on my faith. Where others pray for God’s blessings on their lives, I pray expecting God to say “No” or to allow bad things to happen instead because that is what is good for me. I have faith in God and believe He can intervene, but I do not expect Him to do so in my life. There have been wonderful times of blessing, but there have also been terrible times when I have lost so much.
When I think about the millions of people in this world who are living as refugees, I think about how much they must beg God to intervene in their lives. Yet they remain stuck in refugee camps, unable to get on with their lives and watching their children lose the opportunity to be educated and get out of those places. In Australia, there are many refugees incarcerated on offshore islands and subjected to the terrible abuse, and this is supported by supposed Christians who invite the media into their church service at Easter to show them raising their hands in an act of pious hypocrisy. Those refugees must beg God to intervene, yet they remain in this terrible, inhumane and hopeless situation.
Then there are those who are stuck in poverty in wealthy western countries. People who receive little if no help from others, especially governments. People who try to find work, or who work in jobs that pay so little they cannot pay for life’s basic necessities. People who want to see better opportunities for their children but have little hope that will happen. People who are homeless and forgotten. Those people must beg God to intervene, yet they remain in their terrible conditions.
There are those who are being raised in abusive households. There are those who struggle every day with chronic illness. There are those who are bereaved. The list goes on.

We all feel abandoned by God at times.

We do not know why that happens.

I am sure that there will come a day when God will show us our lives and explain His purposes in leaving us in situations we begged to be removed from. In the meantime, I need to do what the writer of Psalm 74 has done. I need to lament and wait.

We all need to lament and wait.