I am in a Xangy mood. 

I'm at Jesse's house right now.  It's so relaxing - being in a real house away from the dorms, drinking coffee, and just getting to hang out.  The homework needs to start soon, but it's just some interesting reading and logic homework, so I'm not minding it.

For three days now I have been quite the happier person.  On Thursday morning I finally turned in a paper which for some reason took me ages and was ridiculously hard to write.  I was very late turning it in, so the stress/anxiety had been building up and driving me crazy.  So, I feel quite lighter of heart now.

Actually, I learned a lot by doing that paper.  It was for Psalms class.  The assignment was to choose a theme and trace it throughout the entire book of Psalms.  My theme was uncertainty toward God - the times that the psalmists cry out, "How long are you going to let these circumstances last?  Why have you inflicted so much misery on me?  Why aren't you doing something?  Why have you rejected me?"  I chose this topic because in the past I have really not enjoyed those passages.  They seemed too doubtful, and I don't like unresolved questions.  So, I wanted to find out the significance.

What I learned was amazing!  (If you really want to find out, you can read my paper, which is about eight pages long.)    But I'll give you the short scoop here:

- God doesn't answer every specific question of "why" and "how long", but He does bring overwhelming resolution to the uncertainty, which you can see when you look at the book of Psalms as a whole.

- How long will suffering last?  Not forever -- in fact, not even a long time.  "Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning"  (Psalm 30:5).

- Why does God cause us to suffer at times?  The reason is not always given for every circumstance.  Sometimes it is punishment for sins, but other times it might not be.  One explanation is that the hard times can be God's crucible for testing and refining His people (Psalm 66:10).
God demonstrates over and over that His plan is good.  Even when we don't understand it, we can trust in His loving nature.

- Why does God sometimes hold back from acting?  Once again, a reason is not always given, but the answer is that He will act.  He has a plan that He will execute in His timing.  A proper response is that of David in Psalm 40:1:  "I waited patiently for the Lord."

- Why does God reject His people?  He does not - at least, not permanently.  When he temporarily rejects them, or it seems that he has abandoned them, He is still working out His plan.  (See Psalm 22, which foreshadows the suffering and rejection of Jesus.)  God will always be faithful to His covenant promises.

- So, if we can know that God is trustworthy, what's the point of questioning him?  I think the answer is that, from the human point of view, God's actions don't always make sense.  When we bring our questions to him with honesty, it pleases him.  We are turning to Him with our agony and uncertainty, not away from Him.  He is not offended; he actually invites us to do so.  "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall" (Psalm 55:22).  "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge" (Psalm 62:8).  Pouring out our hearts - including all the uncertainty in them - IS a form of trust.

- Besides, what could be better than to bring our pain, pleading, and questions to the only one who holds all the answers, is able to truly comfort, and is completely able to alter our circumstances?

Ok, so that really wasn't a short scoop!  Lo siento.  But I love seeing how good and faithful God is!

It feels good to be back on Xanga!