Posted on June 26, 2022 Posted By: HCCCategories: journey
Heartland Community Church
THE JOURNEY
Restore My Soul: When Conditions Aren’t Perfect
By Meghan Hemenway
As a new Christian, strong and excited in my adult relationship with God, I was once affronted when a pastor preached this message on a Sunday: “If you aren’t struggling now, get ready because it is coming for you.” I was offended at the idea that I couldn’t understand true faith without walking through difficult seasons. I took it personally. I believed I had worked hard to arrive at the place I was at, and as relatively smooth as it was, I didn’t like feeling questioned as a believer. Then, for me, came parenthood, job and marriage struggles, death, loss, and for everyone, a global pandemic. Fifteen years later I understand what I had missed all those years before.
Seasons of difficulty will come for everyone. What we can hope for is that our faith is strong enough to be an encouragement for us when we do walk through those hard times. Hopefully we have gotten a chance to practice praising God when conditions are pretty good so that when it isn’t so easy, our praise muscles have been strengthened for the seasons of strife.
What seasons of distress have taught me is that refocusing on how good God is rather than how bad the problem is gives me a way to keep going. Reframing is a technique that helps us change the way we view situations, experiences, and even our own emotions. When we consciously choose to think about a situation differently it can start to change the feelings we have about that experience. The psalms are often stories of reframing hardships in David’s life. He is not denying his reality, but beginning to notice all the ways God provides for his needs. Often remembering how he has done so in the past, and choosing to highlight all the inspiring characteristics of God. This had to be how he was able to keep going struggle after struggle.
Praising God when conditions aren’t perfect isn’t some cosmic trick to try to stop bad things from happening. On the south side of some seasons of strife I see that God inspired the Psalms as encouragement for when we feel alone, forsaken, forgotten, and up against the wall of discouragement.
Observe, Reflect, Apply: Conditions do not have to be perfect for us to praise God, but when we are in pain or in hardship it can be easy to forget that the hard times won’t last forever. Going in, living through, and then coming out of the other side is what teaches us how good God is and how he doesn’t leave us. In your periods of mourning or hardship, how was God present?
{bible reading plan}
For the next few months we will be exploring the Psalms. For an overview of the Psalms, watch this 9 minute video from our friends at The Bible Project. To learn more about how to read the Psalms, check out this video resource.
Having a larger vocabulary for our emotions helps us express them to others and even understand them better ourselves. Instead of “happy” and “sad” we learn new levels and depths by saying “elated” or “disheartened.” After reading Psalm 145 go back through and notice all the words for praise that are used. What does this show you about the psalmist feelings towards God?
Psalm 146 speaks to praising a God who is a good help and a hope for suffering people. We know the conditions don’t have to be perfect for us to praise God and here we see what God does for his people in those times. When have you been able to praise God in difficulties? What characteristics of God gave you hope?
In this psalm we see God rebuilding Jerusalem. God is worthy of praise because he does not forget his promises and is consistently caring for his people. When have you had a season of rebuilding? In what ways did you see God caring for you and helping you along?
Psalm 148 highlights all of God’s creatures and creations and calls them to praise their creator. Being in nature is a way that many people feel connected to God. In what ways do you like to connect with God through his creation? What places, sights, or times of day make you feel a nearness to him? What does that nearness feel like in you?
When we see injustice or experience it in our own lives it can feel like there is no hope for a future without the injustice. Psalm 149 reminds us that we have a God who fights for justice and fairness and the time will come that we will see his perfect picture of it. Hope can be restored knowing that our creator knows what we long for and has a plan for righting the wrongs.
In this final Psalm we see a description of a beautiful celebration with music, dancing, and singing. The Psalms walk us through 150 stories of highs and lows, of pain and distress, of fear and longing. The psalms show so much suffering and yet they close with the ultimate scene of praise and celebration. How do you find ways to praise God through your struggles? What does it tell us about God that the psalmist kept praising him all the way through the difficulties?
{extra journey resources}
CLICK HERE to visit The Bible Project site and explore their super simple, super informative Bible videos (and other resources). You can also download The Bible Project App HERE.
CLICK HERE to get the Read Scripture App, from our friends at The Bible Project.
CLICK HERE for more on how to use the observe-reflect-apply approach to getting the most out of your Bible reading.
The Bible App Get the free YouVersion Bible for your phone, tablet, or computer. Experience the Bible anywhere, with options to highlight, save notes, and share what you are reading with others.
The Bible App For Kids YouVersion partnered with OneHope to develop the Bible App for Kids, designing it specifically to engage children with Bible stories on an age-appropriate level. The Bible App for Kids is a free app for Android, Apple, and Kindle devices, available in over 60 languages.
Bible Gateway Provides advanced Bible searching capabilities, which allow readers to find passages in scripture based on keywords, phrases, or scripture reference.
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