The life of faith for a follower of Jesus Christ is messy. We live in a fallen world. Sin has frustrated the cosmos, and creation is subjected to futility and in bondage to decay. (Rom 8:21-22.) This makes our daily existence difficult and complicated.

The frustration can be both mundane and extreme.  Our daily schedule never seems to pan out the way we planned.

Within the fallen world, we reside with broken people. In Genesis 3, man and woman engage in accusation and slander, and on its heels, a man murders his brother. David fled for his life from his son Absalom. Christ was betrayed and denied by those who were his closest followers. While many of us might not experience drama to this extent, all of our relationships are less than perfect and require significant daily effort if they are going to last, let alone thrive. When we experience the brokenness of relationships, where do we run for relief?

To top it all off, we wrestle with internal sin and external temptation. Sin distorts our thoughts, desires, choices, actions, and words. The Bible requires each of us to accept that, at the most practical of levels, we have moral flaws within us that we can do absolutely nothing to solve on our own. Meanwhile, we fight against spiritual forces of evil as ferocious as a prowling lion, seeking to devour us (1 Pet 5:8).  What internal struggles and external temptations are you facing right now? How are you fighting against them?

The point is, the Christian life is messy and complicated. In some way, every day, we will face disappointment, grief, pain, confusion, and struggle. The question is, where do we go and what do we do?

Transparent Hearts Before God

If we are true followers of Jesus, we will be in constant communication with our Lord as we experience the frustration of life in a fallen world. Many of us tend to think that our prayer life — or our communication with God — is limited to our personal devotion time, before a family meal, during the prayer segment in a worship service, or within our small group or Bible study.

The reality is that we talk with God all day long. Sometimes those conversations are vocal; other times, they are silent in our hearts. Sometimes they are cries of pain; other times, they are hymns of profound joy and thankfulness.

In the Psalm’s, we get to eavesdrop as the writer talks with God all day long. In Spirit–inspired poetic form, the psalmists record their honest and transparent conversations with God. The angst, doubt, and weakness. The confusion, despair, and desire to give up. The self-reminders to find strength in Christ and follow God no matter what. The deep abiding joy as we remember the presence and grace of God.

We can see ourselves in every Psalm. The story and struggle of the life of faith is splashed across every page, and so is ours. But, if all we did was discover us in the Psalms, we’d leave depressed and discouraged. Most significantly, we find Christ in the Psalms. We are confronted and comforted with the beauty of his faithfulness, patience, power, wisdom, and grace.

As a believer in Jesus, there is no healthier place to be than to remind ourselves of who we are and who our Saviour is. That’s what the Psalms do so well, and that’s what a healthy devotional life is meant to stimulate.

Our devotional life should serve as one big gospel reminder. It should remind us of the horrible disaster of sin. It should remind us of Jesus, who stood in our place. It should remind us of the righteousness that is his gift. It should remind us of the transforming power of the grace we couldn’t have earned. It should remind us of our future destiny that is guaranteed to all of God’s blood-purchased children.