I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, Lord, as you know. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.  Psalm 40:9-10

What do you do when the person you’re counting on the most repeatedly lets you down?  You cry out in protest.  “Where were you?  I thought you loved me?”  But when these words do not move them to draw close, to apologize, you might stop talking altogether and turn the other way.

Such can be the case when I’ve perceived that God is failing me.  I’ve prayed for things I believed I needed immediately.  I believed that anyone who loved me wouldn’t withhold them.  When answers were delayed, I prayed harder. Now, when I spoke with friends, I made excuses for God, but the first signs of disillusionment had already been manifested in the core of my soul.  My inner testimony sounded hollow.  Armed with the lies of the devil, I stopped talking to God. 

Did you see today’s scripture?  David is speaking in glowing terms about God’s faithfulness.  If I had to guess, I’d say that God just came through for him in some huge way.  David is having a mountaintop experience.  But David is, in fact, in a place ofturmoil and is waiting on God.  His soul is ragged and desperate.  Although his eyes have not yet seen the saving help he needs from God, he is still talking to Him, still praying.  

This is the essence of faith.  In my disappointment, in my wilderness, I can still brag to others about God’s love and faithfulness.  I can encourage them to put their lives in His hands too.  All because the foundation of my life rests on the pillars of God’s promises!  God has not abandoned nor forgotten me. Even while I pour out my complaint in prayer,I speak of His glory in the sanctuary. 

My praise is not conditional, Lord. Amen