A Falling Out With God

Have you ever had a falling out with someone that wouldn't talk to you for a long time afterwards? You've tried all you could to communicate with them. You called, you sent letters, you knock on their door, and still they did not want to talk to you. Of course, in this day, that could be considered stalking. But all you were trying to do is to repair the relationship you had with them.

Did you you ever go through a period when you prayed, and even cried your heart out to God, but it seemed no matter what you did, God was not listening and your prayers were not answered?

King David went through a time such as that. I'm sure many of you remember the story of David, Bathsheba and Uriah. You can read that story starting in 2nd Samuel 11.

David went to his rooftop and looked down and saw Bathsheba bathing. He inquired of her, and sent for her, and he laid with her in his bed, and she conceived. He tried to cover up this misdeed by encouraging Uriah to go home and lay with his wife. When that didn't happen, he devised a plan to have Uriah killed. How many times have we seen on TV, in crime drama mysteries where adultery leads to murder.

When the child was delivered, God stuck the child, and eventually the child died. That's when David sunk into deep despair or depression. And even though he would cry out to God, it seemed to David that God wasn't listening.

In Psalm 13, David wrote, "How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou forget me for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day."

You probably remember the words of Christ on the cross, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me." That's a quote of Psalm 22. David again was crying out to God. And, David said, "thou answerest not."

So, David went though times after having a falling out with God that he felt God has forsaken him.

Have you ever gone through a time when you felt that God was distant, that he didn't care? I know I have. What do you do? You keep praying and eventually there is a resolution. Either you accept that God is not going to answer your prayer, or you prayer is answered, but not in the way you wanted it to be answered. After all of David's prayer and fasting, and the emotional turmoil he put himself though, when the child died, he knew that was God's will, and he snapped out of his depression.

If we just have faith enough to accept God's will, we too can snap out the depression we put ourselves through because we believe God does not care, that God is ignoring our prayers. And, I realize that is far more easier to say than it is to accomplish.

- All Scriptures quoted from the American Standard Version.