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Psalm 43 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
What hurts more than the abandonment and rejection of our peers? It’s the feeling we have been rejected by God. Is this true? Does God reject us?
For You are the God of my strength; why have You rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Psalms 43:2 NASB
This is a famliar feeling. In our minds, we know that God is love. We’ve maybe been told this since we were young children. We sing songs about the love of God and have memorized Scripture that confirms God is for us and not against us. But somewhere in our hearts, there is doubt that creeps in. Even if we don’t admit it, the simple act of feeling hatred toward those who oppress us illustrates our lack of trust in God and the struggle of finding our identity in what others think. This is clear by what the psalmist writes in verse 2. He is grieved because he has to go on in mourning and feels God is doing nothing. Since he sees God doing nothing, he assumes God has rejected him.
The bottom line is, some of us are currently carrying around misconceptions about the God we claim to love and follow. Some of us believe God is still angry with us over a sin issue we’ve already repented of. Some of us believe we can never please Him because He has such high standards and we fall short every day. Some of us look side to side and see others who seem to be “blessed” and begin to believe that God has favorites and we’re not one of them. These are stumbling blocks to a true and meaningful relationship with the Father. I’m not saying these feelings aren’t real. Obviously, for the psalmist, they were very real. I’m not even saying it’s wrong to verbalize them. They are written in Scripture! What I am saying is that it’s wrong to stay in that state of deception.
The psalmist believes this. He moves on from his feelings to what he knows is true about God. He pleads with God to act according to His characteristics which have been proven faithful since the beginning of time.
O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your dwelling places.
Psalms 43:3 NASB
Send out your light and truth and let them lead me! What a simple and beautiful prayer!
When I am tempted to believe that You do not love me… send out your light and truth!
When I seek to find my identity in what others think and say about me… send out your light and truth!
When I can’t get over my past sin that You’ve forgiven and I feel I cannot please You… send out Your light and truth!
What happens next? The psalmist is stirred up with praise for his God.
Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God. 5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.
Psalms 43:4-5 NASB
If we should ever doubt the love and faithfulness of God, we only need to look at the history of our existence. If God chose to reject us, he would have ended humanity after Adam and Eve. If He chose to reject us, He would not have spared Noah and his family. If He chose to reject us, He would have destroyed the prideful generation who constructed the Tower of Babel. We could go on and on. However, the one event that exemplifies precisely how God feels about us is the sacrifice at Calvary. If God was done with us and hated us, He wouldn’t have sent Jesus to carry the eternal weight of our sin on to the cross. God has proven His love for us in too many ways to count.
I refuse to be deceived. Lord, send out your light and truth!