Psalm 13
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
How long will you look the other way?
2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he is good to me.
I suspect over the past year, you have had days like the one described by David in this psalm. Days when you were just discouraged and wondered if God cared. The pandemic and its restrictions have been hard on all of us.
This psalm was likely written after David had been anointed by Samuel as the next king of Israel, but Saul was still on the throne and actively pursuing David. David knew what God had promised, but it wasn’t happening …
“O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
How long will you look the other way?”
David’s question “how long?” wasn’t wrong or sinful. He was depressed and wondering when God was going to act, to do something. We all have days like that, days when we are experiencing tough situations and wonder when will things improve. We can be honest in our relationship with God. We can tell him we don’t understand what he is doing, and that we are afraid.
But notice after David vents his feelings, he states that God is good.
“But I trust in your unfailing love.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
I will sing to the Lord
because he is good to me.”
And that is what it comes down to – we are upset, but we still trust God. We may not feel great, but we can concentrate on who God really is. The Book of Lamentations tells us the same thing. Remember who God is during tough times.
Lamentations 3: 20 – 25
20 I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
21 Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:
22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”
25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for him.
Our song for today is The God Who Listens by Chris Tomlin