Psalm
13:1-2 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me
forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with
my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy
triumph over me?
A psalm of
lament
Think of the elderly who have no relatives to knock on
the door to visit and bring human contact to the aged. Think of the children of
the sub-Sahara regions of Africa who awaken each morning with no food to eat
and little, if any, clean water to drink. Think of the father in the Middle
East who awakens at night to sounds of bombs exploding outside the home where
he, his wife and his children had lived in peace. Think of the family whose
parents have been unemployed for since the economy collapsed in 2008. They all
cry “How long, O Lord?”.
The psalmist senses in his
day the absence of God. His thoughts are troubled as he reflects on his present
condition and what life had been like in the past. The memories of provision,
joy and community can only bring pain and sorrow to the present state of
affairs. The enemy is using the past and the present to distance him from his
God. The battle is real. It is waged in his life, mind, body and spirit.
David was faithful to God and trusted
wholeheartedly in him, but he felt the pressure of his problems as much as
anyone. Instead of giving up or giving in, however, David held on to his faith.
In times of despair, it is much harder to hold on than to give up. But if you
give up on God, you give in to a life of despair.
Our remedy is trust in God’s
unfailing love. We rejoice with other believers in the salvation he has given us
in Christ Jesus. Remember the good God has done and battles of the past He was
won for us. Today’s trouble will be short lived and He will bring us victory
now and in the future.
