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;
Psalm 13
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
As with many psalms of lament, Psalm 13 begins with the writer recounting his suffering. He begins this psalm by asking the question “How long?” four times. While we don’t know the exact circumstances, we can see that he is at the end of himself – his endurance is waning. In his flesh, he feels as though God has abandoned him to his suffering and is withholding his steadfast love.
After the lament of his troubles, he cries out to the LORD for help and relief from his despair.
By the end of the psalm, the writer circles back around to what he knows to be true. He reminds himself that he can trust in the LORD’s steadfast love, which is the source of his joy – not his circumstances. He is reminded that the LORD has been faithful to provide and sustain him and his heart rejoices.
Is this the posture of our hearts when we are suffering? We know that we can pour out our hearts to the Lord in prayer – He already knows what is happening and the depth of pain we experience. We know that we can ask him for relief and restoration in our suffering, and trust that while He may not answer it in the way we want or expect – He always answers prayers.
This trust, faith, and understanding of who He is makes it possible for our hearts to praise Him even while we are still enduring whatever the suffering may be. May we continually lift our eyes to the cross – knowing that our Savior endured suffering and knows our suffering. And may the truth of what He did to save us from our sins be the foundation of our joy no matter what we may find ourselves experiencing. Circumstances change – He does not.
Sola Deo Gloria.
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