Invisible help

From Psalm 10...

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

Then the writer describes the "wicked man," who reviles the Lord," "does not seek him," and "in all his thoughts there is no room for God."

The wicked man also says to himself: "Nothing will shake me. I'll always be happy and never have trouble." He preys upon the weak and tells himself that God isn't paying attention.

But the writer insists this isn't true. He states plainly that the victim "commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless."

You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

The question: When you feel helpless, how would it help you if you experienced God as acting on your behalf?

This is of course what I yearn for--to believe and to experience the peace and joy of a real relationship with God. But I fumble in the dark towards belief, still. I consider the generations before me, hundreds, no thousands of years' worth of Christians reading these words and believing them, or trying to believe them.

Here is what I come back to: What God instructs in the bible is love and peace and caring for one another. These are inherently good and right. That, at least, I can hold on to in a tangible way.

Lord, I pray as always for some sign that You are reading this blog. Hebrews 11 tells me that believing this without seeing it is the essence of faith. And that is what pleases You. I am stuck feeling guilty. If I was a real Christian, I would...fill in the blank. Give more money. Care for my neighbors. Stop worrying so much about my own self. All this is true. But the basic core of being a follower of Christ is letting him do the work of changing my heart, of making me want to serve others. I am already forgiven and don't need to be guilty. I just need to keep reading Scripture and listening though meditation.

Now I'm going to sit and read this psalm again several times.

I pray for protection over my husband and sweet children as they go about their day today.

In Your son's name I pray.

Amen