God Knows We Feel

Hello, I'm Xochitl Dixon. I pray you feel God's loving and comforting presence as I share today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread entitled, God Knows We Feel. Feeling overwhelmed, Sierra grieved her son's fight with addiction. I feel bad, she said. Does God think I have no faith because I can't stop crying when I'm praying? I don't know what God thinks I said, but I know he can handle real emotions.

It's not like he doesn't know we feel. I prayed and shed tears with Sierra as we pleaded for her son's deliverance. Scripture contains many examples of people wrestling with God while struggling. The writer of Psalm 42 expresses a deep longing to experience the peace of God's constant and powerful presence. He acknowledges his tears and his depression over the grief he's endured. His inner turmoil ebbs and flows with confident praises as he reminds himself of God's faithfulness. Encouraging his soul, the psalmist writes, Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. He's tugged back and forth between what he knows to be true about God and the undeniable reality of his overwhelming emotions.

God designed us in his image and with emotions. Our tears for others reveal deep love and compassion, not necessarily a lack of faith. We can approach God with raw wounds or old scars because he knows we feel. Each prayer, whether silent, sobbed, or shouted with confidence, demonstrates our trust in his promise to hear and care for us.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is Psalm 42. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, Where is your God? These things I remember as I pour out my soul. How I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One, with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me. Therefore, I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon, from Mount Mazar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls.

All your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day, the Lord directs his love. At night, his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God, my rock, why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, where is your God? Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Let's pray. Unchanging Father, thank you for assuring us that you know we feel, and thanks for reminding us that you understand we need to process our ever-changing emotions. Help us trust you with every prayer, whether we're shouting your praises or sobbing cries for your comfort and grace to carry us through. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.