In our culture we divide everything up in order to make it easy to explain. We have all kinds of names for the maladies or the spiritual conditions that we encounter.We will make a diagnosis of a problem or a condition and put a label on it. Because we are satisfied with the diagnosis we look for an emotional reaction from people in order to feel loved. We are scientific people who get comfort from the emotion of love and kindness shown  to us.

But in the OT culture it was not like this. The question is God like this? When the Psalmist ask for God to search him is he asking for God to make a diagnosis of his sin? Is the Psalmist drawn to God because he experiences a deep affection? Well if we read the Psalmist one time we may think the searching and the love of God is affectionate. But if you meditate on these Psalms for years the repetition itself will convince you that it is much deeper than a mere affection. And if you study the Psalms and they way he expresses himself you would be surprised. In the jewish culture when a person had a malady or condition he expressed it in words and actions. He would tell God exactly what he was experiencing. He would tear his clothes, wear clothes that showed he was suffering, or throw dirty on the head. Why does the bible describe the condition rather than label that condition? Why does God seem unaffectionate to the condition? 

Here we are suffering from a disease or a emotional condition and when we go to the bible instead of finding the label we read about the suffering of the sufferer? After thinking over this difference I would like to pose a question. Do we want God to make us feel good when we are suffering or do we want a God who acts to correct the suffering. What good does it do to understand our condition by finding the label for it? Why not act and explain to God our suffering? So we see that the bible is focused on acting and not feeling.

Too often we think the answer is in the label. We do not think there needs to be further actions to correct our condition. If we lose our focus then we may not act to correct our condition. But if God does not focus on affection but action then we know that when we go to Him we are gonna do something to correct the condition. We find in the Psalms that God loves us by proving it in action. We find that the reason that men are not like God is because they show feeling and not action. If God simply drew us to Himself by affection then nothing would be corrected in the world.

This is why we are encouraged to tell God exactly what we are going through. God knows more than we do but He wants to hear our complaints. Its hard for us because when we complain to other people they do not like to hear our complaints. But God is never weary of hearing us tell Him exactly what we are going through. If we approached God on the level of feeling then He at some point would be offended for having to endure the sorrow and our description of pain. But God Himself is all action. The Psalmist teaches us  that in the end the help of man is  worthless. Think about this. A trust based upon affection is not really secure. But a trust based upon action is very secure. So why do we trust the feeling?

If we believed that God was all action then the only thing that needs to be done is for God to act. This is why the Psalmist over and over described his condition. He was not depending upon Gods affection. He was persistent because God is all action. He was persuasive with arguments because God is a bottom line God. He did not want God to make everybody feel sorry or show affection. He wants God to move the people so there is an action. The feeling only slowed down the action. What is better. To feel loved after being loved. Or to feel love after God acted to correct the problem? We must do as the Psalms and become a pest to God. Other people will complain and lose patience with us but God promises to listen to us.