This is the third in a series on LIVING OPEN HANDED.  If you missed them, it might be helpful to go back so you understand how we got to this post.
1. LIVING OPEN HANDED: Do Not Fear 

2. LIVING OPEN HANDED: I have a Need

Recognizing our fear and acknowledging we have a need leads us to
open up our ring finger for E: EXPRESS HONESTLY———-

When the Psalmists write, they don’t just speak nice words,  because God only wants to hear nice words. NO!!!!  They are very honest, raw to the core.  They know it is in our honesty- our genuine reflection of what we are experiencing and how we are doing with it that God really shows up big!  They write like it really is.

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Psalm 51:5-7 New Living Translation

5 For I was born a sinner—    yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.6 But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.

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Consider the words of the Psalmist Asaph in Psalm 77.

You kept my eyes from closing
too troubled to speak
too angry to pray
My soul would not be comforted.  NIV says “refused to be comforted?”

Asaph got it!  He spoke what was really going on in his thoughts even to the point of saying,

Where are you God?

Where is your mercy?

Have you forgotten to be kind?

Where are your answers?

Why don’t you say something??????

Asaph’s Bottom line- vs 10 “This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against me.”  (Woe is me, back of hand to the forehead!!)

Sometimes in our sophisticated religiosity, we say that kind of thing – taking pride in our pious sayings and “martyred’ attitudes.  Or maybe that’s why we can’t be honest.  We try hard to say what we SHOULD say to be a ‘good Christian.’ At least I was guilty of that so often.  I thought I was modeling a ‘gracious spirit’!

But actually I was denying the depth of my anguish and in many ways making excuses for God, as if He needed me too.  It only made him weak and powerless in my eyes.  It only added to the loss of my confidence in him.

 “The Psalms,” as Jerry Sittser puts it, “invites us to channel our emotions toward God and turn them into a prayer, so that in the end our emotions enrich our relationship with God. “ He goes on to say, “That we pray honestly seems to be as important as praying properly. Whether expressing praise or rage, prayer does accomplish at least one thing– it pushes us toward God.”

So today’s challenge is for you to write your Psalm.
Use the fears listed from the first post
and the needs you identified in the I have needs post.

What are you experiencing?  What are your emotions?

Let your Psalm push you toward God.  Which is exactly where we need to be for our next post.  You can read it here!  See you there!