When God’s Goodness Feels Distant
The Psalms teach us that grief and trust can go hand in hand.
“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1)
We all know that ache—waiting for something good that feels like it may never come. Kids have their own version of that longing when they ask, “Are we there yet?” when traveling. Many of us ask some version of that question when life hurts and God feels far.
That’s where Psalm 13 begins. David feels forgotten. His thoughts won’t settle. His enemies seem to be winning. But instead of pretending, he brings it all to God.
That’s what lament is. Not a failure of faith, but an expression of it. The Psalms teach us that grief and trust can go hand in hand. We don’t have to tidy up our emotions to talk to God. He welcomes our ache.
Then comes the turn: “But I have trusted…” David doesn’t wait for everything to be fixed before he trusts. He plants his feet in God’s love and says, “I will sing. I shall rejoice.”
And we know why: because Jesus entered our sorrow, felt the silence, and carried our grief to the cross. He didn’t just suffer with us—He suffered for us. And now, even when God feels distant, we know He’s near.
Today we are trusting through the tension—honest in our hurt, confident in His love. We don’t have to hide our grief. Because of Jesus, even when God feels far away, we know that He is never absent.