The Difference

But I put my trust in your mercy.

 - Psalm 13

The 13th Psalm starts down the path of a person headed for agnosticism. It begins with self-oriented questions.

"Oh God - - - why won't you listen to me?"

"Lord, why isn't my life working out?"

"Father, can't I get a break?"

We've all been there. We know what the Psalmist is talking about. "I thought if I had the faith of a mustard seed, I could move mountains! Why can't I even pray for a good job, and it happen?" And quite likely, most people have studied this question and understand well the lesson it makes about real faith. Mustard seed faith trusts in the elements, in the rain and sun, in the gardener. It does it's task and accepts the outcomes. This is real faith.

But if we don't keep the right perspective about misfortune and how it related to our faith, we may find ourselves doubting, more and more. "How can God do this to me?" Becomes "How can a loving God allow the starvation of children?" And next thing you know, you're an intellectual that's too smart to believe.

David kept his bearings. After his spell of self-pity, he always comes back to "But I will trust in God anyway." 

And this is the difference. It's the difference that kept his faith rock-solid. And after the kind of life David had, to still trust in God anyway . . . well, that may very well be more miraculous than the moving of a mountain.