God’s Invitation to “Timid Souls”

When I became embittered and my innermost being was wounded, I was stupid and didn’t understand; I was an unthinking animal toward you. – Psalm 73.21-22 (CSB)

Are you honest with God when you pray? Have you come to that place in your walk with the Lord where you can be raw and bare before him? I used to “hide” thoughts and feelings from the Lord out of fear and shame. Fear because I didn’t want to say anything to God that would get me in trouble with him. And shame because there were things that came to mind that left me feeling like a lousy Christian. If I was honest back then, fear and shame were what I struggled with because I wasn’t truly convinced that God would still love me as much. I also believed that because I was a Christian I shouldn’t have been struggling with sinful desires. So, I would say things like, “God, you know my heart. You know that that’s not what I want.” I would never really confess what those things were. It was easier to quickly “mention them” without giving much attention to my need to deal with them. I tried to make sure that God knew I didn’t struggle as much as I knew I did. I walked on eggshells before the Lord instead of boldly coming before the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace to help me in my times of need (Hebrews 4.16). But today? Praise God for what he’s done in me to bring me to a place where I can now come before him in boldness, honesty, and brokenness, knowing that I’m loved and received because of Jesus.

I recently came across this statement by Archbishop Fenelon that made me stop. I read it again and groaned with delight, leaving my soul at rest. “Be persuaded, timid soul, that He has loved you too much to cease loving you.” Right? Read it again. “Be persuaded, timid soul, that He has loved you too much to cease loving you.” Can you imagine how our lives would look if we truly believed this statement from the core of our being? Whether I’m on the mountaintops or in the valleys, in a season of plenty or want, or experiencing great victories or soul-wrenching setbacks, God loves me too much to cease loving me. And know this:

God loves you too much to cease loving you. 

The author of Psalm 73 admitted that he became embittered and angry because of all the injustice he saw around him. He was frustrated by what he perceived to be true: the ease of life experienced by those who didn’t follow God. And as he went before the Lord with these things, he compared himself to an “unthinking animal.” In other words, he was completely honest before the Lord while not showing much respect. He knew how he had acted before the Lord. It wasn’t proper or polite. He even admitted that he was stupid before him. But look at what he said right after this confession. Notice what he knew to be true even though he was an “unthinking animal” toward God. “Yet I am always with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me in your counsel, and afterward you will take me up in glory. Who do I have in heaven but you? And I desire nothing on earth but you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever” (Psalm 73.23-26, CSB). He didn’t question God’s presence with him. That’s the thing that brought him out of his tirade before God. He knew that God was always with him, even when he was being stupid.

Do you know that to be true? Do you know God’s presence with you is not based on how civilized you are before him? Of course, I’m not advocating disrespect toward God driven by our sin, pride, or arrogance. However, I do believe that God invites us to be real and honest before him, opening up every emotion and feeling that comes to us, every thought, whether respectful and civilized or not, because we know that God loves us too much to cease loving us. Think about it. God knows what we think before we think it. He knows the words we will say before we say them. He knows how we are feeling. David said it this way:

“LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, LORD. You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me. This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it” (Psalm 139.1-6, CSB).

God knew everything about David, and it was “wondrous” to him. He didn’t feel ashamed or uneasy. He didn’t feel awkward before the Lord or no longer accepted by him. Instead, he felt wonderful. To be fully known by God is not an embarrassing thing but a life-giving and soul-freeing reality. He knows the temptations that come our way. He knows our insecurities. He knows our regrets. He knows the sins we commit and still mercifully convicts us and offers his gifts of confession and repentance from those sins, inviting us back into deep fellowship with himself. He graciously provides all that is needed for godly living as we strive to worship him in every word, thought, and deed (2 Peter 1.3). He knows us. And since he does, shouldn’t we be honest before God, who loves us too much to cease loving us? Shouldn’t we retire our “timid souls” that keep us from being completely honest before the Lord because we’re not really convinced that God would still love us as much?

I don’t have to perform before the Lord. I don’t have to pretend that I’m better than I am. Instead, I’m free to be bold. I’m free to be honest. I’m free to be broken. Not only that, but I’m also free to be playful and joyful before him. In other words, I’m free to be real. That’s God’s invitation, even if I sometimes act stupidly while trying to figure things out. And because of this great work that the Lord has done in me, and that he wants to do in you as well, I can say the same words that close Psalm 73 with full assurance and gratefulness: “But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, so I can tell about all you do” (Psalm 73.28, CSB).

Thank you, God, that you love us too much to cease loving us.