“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?” –Psalm 13:1-2 (NIV)
In last week’s blog, I reflected on the importance of gratitude—how essential it is to pause and thank God for His hand in our lives. Gratitude is powerful. But if we’re honest, there are plenty of days when gratitude feels out of reach. The struggles we face—loss, disappointment, anxiety, grief—don’t naturally lead us to say “thank you.” So, what do we do with those emotions?
The short answer: We bring them to God.
Throughout the Psalms, David shows us that honesty with God is not only allowed—it’s invited. In Psalm 13, David begins with a cry of desperation: “How long, Lord?” He doesn’t sugarcoat his pain. He doesn’t wrap it up in spiritual language. He simply pours out his heart. And here’s the beautiful thing: God doesn’t turn him away.
We often think God only wants our praise, our faith, or our smiles. But the God who created our emotions can also handle our questions, our frustrations, our doubts, and even our anger. Jesus Himself cried out in anguish on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). If the sinless Son of God could express His pain honestly to the Father, then why can’t we?
David’s psalms often follow a pattern: pain, prayer, and then praise. He vents, he processes, and eventually, he remembers who God is. Psalm 13 ends with these words: “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.” –Psalm 13:5-6
That shift doesn’t happen because the circumstances have changed—it happens because David has brought his full, unfiltered self into the presence of God. And that’s where the healing begins.
There’s a story told about a little boy who came home from school angry and frustrated. His mom told him, “Go to your room and tell God how you feel.” After a few minutes, the boy came back, calmer. His mom asked what happened. He said, “I told God everything… and He listened.”
Maybe today we’re carrying things we haven’t told God about—because we think they’re too messy, too raw, or too painful. Let this be your invitation to talk to Him. He already knows, but He wants us to know that He’s listening.
We can bring it all to Him—our gratitude and our grief. Our trust and our tears. He’s not afraid of our honesty. In fact, it may be the very thing that brings healing to our souls.
thesimplemindedpastor.com 