Jan 19 - Agonizing Despair

January 19

Agonizing Despair

Ps 77:2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: …: my soul refused to be comforted.

Some devastating loss has fallen upon you and grief pours over you. A great opportunity is gone. You have suffered the total loss of something, or someone and the loss is permanent, irreplaceable.  Or you have learned of some unstoppable calamity that is roaring down upon you from the future. The result is you are overwhelmed with grief.  There is no remedy, no fixing your great loss, or avoiding the day of your trouble that has taken the sparkle from your eyes, the song from your lips and the joy from your heart and soul. What could be worse? 

If you were burdened down with agonizing despair and called on God day and night but had no relief from your troubles,  that would be worse.  “God where are you. I am hurting. Why don’t you answer?”  Yes that would be even worse. 

Asaph had just that experience.  In the day of his trouble he sought the Lord but was not comforted.  How can that be? Doesn’t the scripture tell us He is the God of all comfort?   (2Co 1:3)  Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 

That is the question that the psalmist asks.

Ps 77:7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? 8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? 9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.

Where is God when it hurts so bad, is the wrong question. He is where he has always been. The better question to ask is where are you when it hurts so badly?  Some years ago I was in charge of the teen group at our church. Sometimes a troubled teen would ask how they could know what God’s will was for their lives. I would tell them to ask Him, He will talk to you, but if you are playing in the alley among the trash cans you might not be able to hear Him! I never had a teen ask me what I meant by that.

There are many reasons why people are not comforted when they seek God’s help. Have you ever accepted God’s free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ His son?  Are you a child of God?  Is he your Father? If not why would anyone expect God to comfort them when they have rejected His son?

Some only turn to God in time of trouble. When the trouble is passed they forget God. “Oh God if you will get me through this I will blah blah blah”  Sure they will. The road of despair is littered with such silly broken promises.  They may not be comforted because they are not sincere. Will they try to fool God?

It is important to remember that even a sincere child of God may not be comforted. But lack of comfort does not mean lack of an answer from God.  A child saves his allowance for a bicycle, but then squanders it on silly things. When he begs for a bicycle he will not accept his dads answer. “You had money for a bicycle but you spent it foolishly. Now you will have to wait.”  The dad could make the child happy by buying them a bicycle, but knows their crying and disappointment will teach them a lesson more valuable than being happy with a new bike. The dad has answered their plea, but the child is still crying for a bike.  Sometimes God does not comfort us because of a lesson to be learned.

Today we have considered four reasons for lack of comfort; Rejecting God’s Son, insincere promises, lack of comfort does not equal lack of an answer, or there is a lesson to be learned.

We need to continue this discussion tomorrow.  If you know someone who is in despair perhaps today’s devotional will give you some insight into why they are not comforted.  May God be your comfort and stay.  God bless you gentle reader.