Just because we can’t feel God’s presence does not mean that he is absent. In life, we could be surrounded by gravel and grief, still, God promises to be present with us in the middle of trouble.
Ethan’s ( The writer of the Psalm) confidence was not in the absence of darkness, but in the one who watched over him in the dark.
It was dark and gloomy on that Friday when Christ was crucified. The weight of our sins crushing on his shoulders. The earth breaking and the sky shaking, God did indeed turned away from Jesus then.
Jesus’s cried out for help and comfort but all he got was a deaf ear from God. There was no help for him, just silence.
God was dealing justly with all our sin and guilt and shame. He was nealing that on the cross, yes, on Jesus so that we who believe and hope in him will forever have God’s ear, attention, love and help.
So, when we we don’t understand God, even when we don’t see Him, because of Jesus we can say- I trust you Lord. We can perhaps say also, “I do not understand you in this situation Lord, but I understand why I trust you.” Though uncertainty may encompass me and the darkness bid me see that no God is there, I can trust Him nonetheless.