How Long?

Read: Psalm 13

1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Record: The psalmist is caught in the difficulties of life and wants to free of his enemy.  His heart is heavy all day long, because he feel the Lord has abandoned him.  He believes the Lord’s face has been hidden from him.

Reflect:  The distress that the psalmist is feeling is purposefully vague, which allows for numerous connections.  Whatever his lot may be, the psalmist is pleading for the Lord’s help.  He wants an answer from the Lord and help from his enemy.

Respond:  My response is one of prayer hoping that verses 5-6 will always be my response.  No matter what the situation may bring forth, I would hope to trust in the Lord’s steadfast love because of the joyous salvation I have in the Lord and the infinite blessings that come with that pricey and priceless salvation.

This psalm tells that any difficult situation can finds its comfort in the gospel, that the Lord truly does hear me and ultimately answers me with the cross.  Notice that actual deliverance from the difficult situation in which the psalmist found him may not have even occurred.  In the end, God is still good.  My enemy may seem to be winning but the final victory (the one that matters) has been secured in the victorious work of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.