In his book The Bible Jesus Read, Philip Yancey lauds the varied expressions in Psalms as people of faith grappled with life's realities. Joy mixed with pain, protest alongside praise, agony and extasy together. Indeed, the Bible has its feet on the ground.

Joy and peace do not come at the expense of ignoring the tough issues and the afflictions of our passage through this world. On the contrary, Jesus' suffering brings us face to face with sin's deepest horrors while it breaks darkness with divine light.

Christians, therefore, are the true realists. Atheists must ignore a universe of evidence for the existence of God. Optimists must close their eyes to human inequalities and social injustices. Pleasure-seekers must pretend there is no accounting for deeds done in the body. Secularists must squelch the cry of eternity emanating from the heart.

This holy realism girds up wisdom and spurns folly. Long ago a man of God made this connection, "The impious fool says in his heart, 'There is no God'" (Psalm 14:1, NEB).

God's people may cry, doubt, plead, and protest. In so doing, they show their full humanity working toward holiness and demonstrate that they, above all others, are taking life as it is in full account and placing it squarely at the feet of him who can perform immeasureably more than any can ask or conceive.