How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts …
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
How Long Will You Hide Your Face From Me, Lord? – Psalm 13
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.
Reflection
Does it feel like God is hiding His face from you? Like He has forgotten about you? Maybe it feels like the enemy is winning as you try to wait patiently for the Lord’s mighty hand to intervene. The psalmist makes clear that you are not alone. Holy Scripture also records that our “Christian way” is the narrow and challenging way, and the battlefield is of the mind.
Therefore, there will be times when we feel as though God has forgotten about us. Jesus Himself felt this way as He hung between two criminals on the Cross. Your prayers will seem to go unanswered, and nothing will seem to go right. But like the psalmist, in times of difficulty and despair we are to praise God — to “rejoice in His salvation.” In times of darkness and troubled thoughts, we are to press into our faith, not away from it, and thank God for all that we have been given. This is what opens the pathway to the Lord’s blessing and victory. His love is unfailing, He is always with us. But our faith will be tested, and we must pass the test. While the psalmist cried out, “How long, Lord, how long?” — in the end, he reaffirmed his faith and told God that he trusts Him … because “He has always been good to me.”
No matter what you are experiencing today, return to “center” — praise, trust and thank God for who He is, all He has done, and all He will do in the future. Rest assured, God will deliver you. You are the apple of His eye. But you must trust Him. As you contemplate all the Lord has done for you today, say this simple prayer: “Lord, Jesus, Thank You. Forgive me when I begin to doubt and complain. You are a faithful Father and I know You are working all things together for my good – even when I don’t deserve it. You are merciful to me, and I will praise You all the days of my life. It is in Your precious Name that I pray, Amen.”
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