In late 2014, after completing my master’s degree and being ordained into ministry, I had to step down from my ministry position at my church in Texas to move out of state with my family. At the time, I was not worried about this transition at all. After all, I had experience, credentials, skills, and education. How hard could it be to find a new ministry position after the move?
As it turned out, it was extremely difficult! I searched, applied, and interviewed for over two years before a church hired me. I ended up taking temporary office assignments before accepting an entry-level position in a craft store to help pay the bills. Those two years were crushing. Devastating, even. Where was Jesus? What happened to what I perceived as a calling to worship ministry? Had I spent all those years in Bible college and seminary just to cut fabric and straighten shelves stocked with glue, scrapbook paper, and glitter?
Have you ever experienced anything like this? Life is going along fine, and suddenly everything comes to a grinding halt. You lose your job. The doctor gives you a serious diagnosis. Your marriage falls apart. You feel like God has abandoned you.
Everyone encounters seasons of difficulty. Our struggles are different, but they all cause pain. In the past few weeks, I have spoken with individuals who have lost their jobs or are carrying another heavy burden. When this happens, how do you react? How do you hold on to your faith when you feel God has punished you, abandoned you, or is ignoring your cries for help? Suffering can disorient us and make familiar truths feel far away. In those moments, we need the words God has already given us to steady our hearts and support us as we navigate these difficult seasons of life.
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Praying Through Pain: Finding Comfort in Songs of Lament
When we’re struggling to navigate these emotions, well-meaning fellow Christians often offer advice like, “You just need to study the Bible more. Stay in the Word.” Or “You need to pray more.” I even had someone tell me, “You just need to count it all joy,” referencing James 1:2. She meant well, and while I can discern lessons learned years after the difficult season has ended, I was not in a place where I could hear that message. When someone is drowning, we throw them a life preserver; we don’t lecture them about how they should take swimming lessons or study ocean currents. We certainly don’t tell them they should be joyful in their dire circumstances. They need immediate help. They need something to hold on to until they can make it to shore or to safety.
James’s command to “count it all joy” is true, and it is important; however, when grief is fresh and raw, many of us cannot begin there. In those moments, the Psalms provide more realistic and honest language for our pain before we’re ready to recognize what God may produce through our suffering. The psalmists often experienced dire circumstances that threatened their existence, livelihoods, families, and faith. Their honest expressions have been preserved for us so we can adopt their words and their prayers as our own when we feel like we have nothing left.
Psalm 13 is a good place to start. In this prayer, David asks the question many suffering believers whisper in the darkness: “How long, O LORD?” (Psalm 13:1, ESV). He brings his confusion, sorrow, and fear to God. He feels forgotten by God and is honest enough to say so.
Jesus, too, knows this kind of pain. He poured out His heart to the Father before His arrest, and He quoted Psalm 22:1 from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (ESV). Jesus did not bypass suffering; instead, He willingly entered into it. But His suffering did not end in defeat. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus secured our living hope and conquered sin and death. In the midst of suffering, we know that suffering will not have the final word. Even the lament Jesus uttered on the cross moves toward hope: “Future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!” (Psalm 22:30b–31, NIV).
Clinging to Psalm 27:14 When You Feel Abandoned by God
We can know the truth of the resurrection, yet when our circumstances are dire, our emotions may make it difficult to hold on to this truth. We need a life preserver. When I was struggling with underemployment and feeling abandoned by God in 2014 and the years following, I clung to a single verse from the Psalms as my life preserver. I memorized it. I recited it. I held on to it like a life raft until my circumstances changed. I still remember it now, twelve years later. I have offered this verse to many others as a life preserver to hold on to during their own difficult times. Maybe it will help you if you are struggling today. And even if you are not in that kind of season today, keep this life preserver within easy reach for the day you or someone you love needs it: “Wait for the LORD. Be strong and take heart, and wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14, NIV).
Jesus Himself waited on the Father amid grief and sorrow. In Gethsemane, as He awaited His arrest, trial, and crucifixion, He poured out His anguish in prayer (Matthew 26:36–46). He knows what it is like to face suffering with a troubled soul, wait in darkness, and then trust the Father anyway.
Jesus does not merely provide an example of faithfulness and patience in suffering; He is present with us in our suffering. On the cross, He entered into the deepest darkness of human pain. Because of this, we do not come to a distant God who is unmoved by our weaknesses and struggles. We come to Jesus as Immanuel, “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23), the immanent God who knows our sorrows, carries our griefs, and intercedes for us when our strength is failing. Jesus may not remove the trial in the manner we wish, but He does not abandon us or leave us alone in it.
“Wait for the LORD. Be strong and take heart, and wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14, NIV).
Speak this verse out loud. Commit it to memory. Memorized Scripture will always be with you, regardless of where you are or if you have access to a Bible. “Wait for the Lord.” This invitation requires patience, and being patient is difficult—I know. It can be so difficult to wait. But God is worth waiting on. “Be strong and take heart.” God Himself gave these instructions to Joshua as he prepared to succeed Moses as the leader of God’s people. God told Joshua, “Be strong and courageous.” And He told him not just once but multiple times (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9). Later, Joshua offered this same advice to some of his leaders (Joshua 10:25).
You may not feel strong or courageous, but your hope isn’t based on the strength of your grip on God. Your hope is in the faithfulness of the God who holds you. Jesus is with you in the difficult seasons. Even if it feels like He has abandoned you, He has not.
I don’t know what your circumstances are. They may be dire. You may be struggling to keep it all together. You may be wondering where God is or questioning why He is not answering your prayers. We live in a fallen world. Bad things happen. But when your faith feels like it is drowning, grab hold of this life preserver from Psalm 27:14. Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart. Not because waiting is easy and not because your faith never falters, but because Jesus is near. He has entered suffering for you. He intercedes for you. He strengthens you by His Spirit, and He will hold you fast.
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Author Bio
Sheri Bradley is the author of Valued by God: Elevating the Value of Women’s Voices in the Church and The Chosen One: An Allegory. Sheri holds a doctorate in worship studies and has served in local church ministry and in Christian higher education as a worship minister and professor. Sheri currently serves as a worship minister and freelance grant writer in the greater Indianapolis area, where she lives with her husband, Brandon. Together, they have six adult children and two grandchildren.
Related Resources:
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