Skip to main content

How Long?

             How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?  How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him, and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me. (Psalm 13)

This is the second psalm that has “How long…?” as a sort of chorus. This time, it’s there four times. How long…will You forget me…will you hide Your face from me…must I wrestle…and have sorrow…will my enemy triumph over me. Forgotten, neglected, struggling, and besieged. I have been in this psalm, sure that the pain would never end, that what I faced would last through all eternity. Rational? No, but pain doesn’t go away just because you say, “You’re silly and irrational.”

Half of the questions are direct accusations of God. The other half can be seen as the natural consequence of the first two.  Then he makes a demand (Give light to my eyes) and announces the consequences of God’s failure to do what he asks. None of this makes God look good. Despite this, David gets a grip. He acknowledges that God has been good to him in the past. He settles himself in the knowledge that things can and will change, but that God doesn’t.  David doesn’t understand. He doesn’t approve. But having given vent to enough emotional energy to regain some focus. Sometimes, that’s what we have to do, even if we can't see the good coming. 

Let's finish with an interesting exercise. As you consider your life, is there something about which you could say, "How Long, Lord?" Ask God about it? Write in your journal, or write a note to yourself, and pursue the subject with God, maybe even daily for a while. See what God does. If you don't see anything in your life, consider the lives of those around you. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more