April 29, 2012 When I was in high school I entered the Public Speaking Contest each year. My classmates had the unfortunate duty of having to listen to me practice my speeches as the contest dates approached. Many of them may remember the introductory line of one of those speeches. “Problems, problems, problems! You got problems, I’ve got problems, everybody’s got problems.” It was true then and it is true now, and will remain true into the future. For some reason many people mistakenly believe that when they receive Christ as their personal savior they will never ever experience anymore problems in their lives. This is not reality. There are up and downs in our relationship with God, and this is normal. The Psalmist’s reveal how normal individual ups and downs in ones relationship with God can be. The various writers of the Psalms reveal an open, honest relationship with God warts and all. The Psalmist expressed anger to God due to his feelings of abandonment. 9 I say to God my Rock, ‘‘Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” 10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, ‘‘Where is your God?” Psalm 42:9-10 Because God’s timing is not our own we often feel as though he has abandoned us. Hindsight will reveal how wrong our feelings of abandonment truly are, but this does not change how we feel in those moments of pain.When you feel as though God has abandoned you tell Him! He can handle our anger, our questions, and even our rage. Crying out to Him in our desperation is how children respond to their father when they are in distress. These expressions are a biblical form of prayer known as prayer’s of complaint. The key is to complain to Him and not everyone else. The footprints poem helps us understand how Christ really helps us get through our own times of trouble and pain. Footprints in the Sand One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only. This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord, “You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?” The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.” – Mary Stevenson, 1936 Remember if you are His, not only does He have you in His hand when your problems seem unbearable He is carrying you. If your problems seem more than you can bear ignore conventional wisdom. Don’t tie a knot and hang on. Bend your knees and bow your heart and if God is you Father (i.e. you have established a relationship with him by placing your faith in His son) then cry out to Him. Express yourself to Him openly, honestly and candidly! You will feel better, and more than any earthly father God can and will respond when He hears His children cry.