Read Psalm 13
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 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?
3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Go Deeper
Psalm 13 is another example of an honest psalm. David feels distant and abandoned by God–and he tells God that. In the opening two verses, David asks the question “how long?” a total of four times. He wants to know how long it will be before God will remember him, show His face, and rescue him again. David doesn’t hold back. At first glance, we might even think it’s too honest. Are we even allowed to talk to God like that?
But such is the beauty of the psalms. They give us permission to voice our feelings to God. Who of us can’t relate to this psalm? At one point or another, we’ve all felt abandoned or forgotten by God. We’ve all wondered how long and we’ve all pleaded with God to show up for us again. David here gives us a template to follow for when we feel like this.
Even though he feels forgotten and abandoned by God, he still approaches God. Even though God feels distant, David still draws near. Even though he probably doubted that God was listening, he still prayed. David knows that he can’t trust his feelings. Feelings are real but they aren’t always reliable. He can acknowledge how he feels, but it doesn’t change the truth of who God is. So, at the end of the psalm, he reminds himself of the truth of God’s goodness, even if he isn’t currently feeling it.
When God isn’t answering our prayers how we want Him to (or as quickly as we want Him to), let’s remember this psalm and follow David’s response. Ask your questions, plead your case, beg God to show up, express your emotions, but then center your feelings in truth.
Because, as Isaiah 49 says, when God’s people said that the Lord had forgotten them, God responded by saying this: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” No matter how you may feel at times, God cannot forget His children. He is good, He is faithful, and He is with you.
Questions
- Have you ever felt distant from or forgotten by God? If so, what did you do?
- Do you tend to ignore your feelings or over-indulge them? How should we respond to our feelings?
- What is a truth of God that you need to remind yourself of today, regardless of the way you feel about it?
A Quote
“The fact that we feel abandoned itself means that we really know God is there. To be abandoned you need somebody to be abandoned by. Because we are Christians and have been taught by God in the Scriptures, we know that God still loves us and will be faithful to us, regardless of our feelings.”
James Montgomery Boice
4 responses to “Psalm 13”
BUT GOD
We can complain and tell God all the things because He already knows but after you complain and cry for help, keep going with being positive about how you trust God and believe in His promises. We know that we can firmly plant our feet on the foundation of God’s love and Jesus’s coming Salvation. We KNOW God loves us and we KNOW Jesus’ sacrifice delivers us from sin and death.
5But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Per the Berean Study Bible “Salvation” in the Old Testament context often refers to deliverance from physical danger or enemies, but it also points to spiritual salvation, which finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The red thread.
God thank You for showing me no matter what I am never alone. I know in my knower that You are for me not against and that You will never leave me nor forsake me. BUT GOD some days are super hard. I am trusting in the steadfast of Your love. My heart rejoices that Jesus’s death and resurrection have brought me true reconciliation, and that alone is the source of my joy in moments of loneliness, doubt, and fear. God I have to renew my mind minutely to You and Your word to keep the evil one from making me quit. So I lift my eyes, cling to Your promises, and let my heart sing—because You are faithful, and You are with me, today in these minutes of this day. God I know that I know that You have all the answers to all the questions. God thank You for loving (Hesed) me without fail today in these minutes in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!
1 How long, Lord?
Was just discussing with students yesterday about different perspectives on time . . . for God, a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day (2 Peter 3:8). No wonder I regularly cry out, “How long, Lord?”!
David’s lament proves we can hold the tension of our physical state (suffering) with the assurance of God’s love simultaneously. The truth of the matter is God is good regardless if we can see it through the lens of our circumstances or not.
“I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me” (v6).
God welcomes our unfiltered honesty.
Psalm 13 teaches us that we can bring God our deepest anguish, but we must let truth lead our hearts back to trust.
Vs 5. But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.