How to trust when you feel forgotten

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.”
Psalm 143:8

The weather’s been gray and gloomy the past couple of months in Gainesville. The sky has reluctantly shown any evidence of why Florida’s nicknamed “The Sunshine State.” The weather has a way of being unpredictable- and so does life.

I was scrolling through Pinterest when Psalm 143:8 came across my screen. It immediately triggered a flashback from a year (almost to the day) of when I first really paid attention to this verse. I had scribbled the verse on a dark pink index card and taped copies of it to every wall in my room. This scripture offered hope. It offered a beam of sunshine during a gloomy season.

Thankfully, this January looks completely different from a year ago. I’m now looking at this verse as evidence that no matter how we feel, God listens to us even when we feel forgotten.

At first glance, the verses in Psalm 143 are depressing. The whole chapter is lined with the cries of David who is in agony over his painful circumstances. After studying the whole piece, I believe there is something greater at work to uncover here. It’s not David’s story of pain. It’s his story of relief.

The Psalm is titled “My Soul Thirsts for You.” When we’re thirsting for something, we feel dry, or parched, or robbed of the necessary nutrients needed to sustain our energy. When we thirst, we may even experience feeling weak because of the strength lacking to get us to the end.

What do we do when we’re thirsty? We look for water, the nutrient that will supply us with what our body craves. When David states that his soul thirsts for the Lord, he is looking to fulfill the longing for relief in his present circumstances. He is looking for a sustainable solution to give him strength to carry on.

He is looking for the only true source of living water: God

Line after line is David begging for relief. His repeated cries in desperation point to a beg for his temporary pain to be released. I imagine, with these repeated cries, he feels his prayers aren’t being heard. He feels invisible.

We also read what seems like David’s justification. The justification is the evidence for why he shouldn’t be going through this. He’s meditated on all the things God has done, pondered the work of His hands, stretched out his hands to Him and the list continues (verses 5-6). It’s almost as if David is saying, “What else can I do, God? What else am I missing?! Can’t you see that I’m doing the right things?”

This chapter can be hard to read because I can hear myself asking the same questions last year. When we’re in harsh weather, we feel like our cries to be rescued are washed out by the noise of everything around us. We feel lonely and forgotten.

If we’re doing everything right then why do bad things keep happening? Why isn’t God rescuing? Why isn’t He relieving? But David isn’t handing God a list of questions and demanding an answer here. We actually don’t see any questions asked, even though I’m sure he thought them.

Instead, David starts listing out praises to God. David is PRAISING God even while he’s feeling unheard and forgotten! He points out God’s righteousness (vs 1) and unfailing, steadfast love (vs 8). David’s repeated cries show a soul that seeks the Lord despite how forgotten or abandoned he feels.

Let this be a reminder that you are not forgotten. You are heard. You are listened to. Keep seeking God and holding on to the ways He’s carried you through every season in all kinds of weather.

God is using your season to show you more ways to depend on Him.

When we want relief, it’s easy to feel forgotten, and we want to put control into our own hands. It’s disguised as a temporary, easy comfort because we desire to be known and paid attention to.

Instead of David taking over the situation and doing things his way, he says, “Show me the way I should go.” Next, he says, “Teach me to do your will” (verse 10). This blows my mind! David shows his trust in the Lord’s faithfulness and views this as an opportunity to be used by God and serve.

David acknowledges the mercy of God EVERY morning- not just the mornings he felt great and life was good. “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,” (verse 8). David knows God is going to come through because He always has, and He always will. David trusts God is faithful even when his circumstance don’t feel like it.

The final sentence of the Psalms reads, “For I am your servant.” Despite all the feelings of abandonment, loneliness and pain, David declares that He will choose to follow God even though God feels far away at this moment. We see a heart desiring to follow God because David knows He is faithful and sovereign.

When we’re stuck in seasons where we feel forgotten or unheard, every day brings a new morning with new mercy. This verse gives hope because every season eventually changes. Every drought eventually gets rain. Every rainy sky eventually turns to sunshine.

Choosing to follow God when we feel forgotten is hard. Actually following through with what He tells us to do is harder. But it’s the hard seasons that lead us to the good seasons. The storm leads us to the sunshine.

The thirsting leads us to Him.

So, when I walked outside and the sun was shining through the palm trees swaying in the breeze for the first time in a few days, I knew it was a reminder from God.

We are never forgotten or unheard. The gloomy days are only for a season. One day the sun will come out- and you’ll know it’s from God.