Psalm 13
1How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4and my enemy will say, 'I have prevailed';
my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
5But I 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.
In school, I remember learning about tenses for verbs. The three basic tenses are past, present, and future. Past tense indicates things that happened are and completed. Present tense is something that is going on as you speak. Future tense is something that is going to happen. I know that there are subcategories from there, but those are the big three.
The idea of time always intrigues me. How do we remember? How do we celebrate? How do we talk about things that happened in the past and how will we talk about things that have not happened yet? Psalm 13 asks the question "How long?" four times. The psalm at that point is in the present tense. The psalmist feels distant from God. He worries about his foes, and what they will do and say if God does not rescue him.
Amidst the worries and troubles, however, the psalm says that he has trusted in the Lord's steadfast love. Because of that past action, it open him up towards the future promise of a relationship with God.
You may feel distant from God and God's plan for your life. You may be asking God, "How long until you reveal yourself?" "How long must I suffer?" "How long until things get better?" It may not seem like it, but God has worked a way before. Why wouldn't God make a way now or in the future? If you know someone who is struggling to be closer to God, remind them that they have trusted in God's steadfast love. It does not always mean that things will work they way we want them to, but they will work, "because the Lord has dealt bountifully with me."
Pray Psalm 13.
