Psalm 13
If you believe in God, has he ever felt so far away that he might as well have forgotten you?
David did, and there have been times, if I'm honest, that I have felt this way too - in my experience living faith sometimes means that one simply has to carry on in the utter belief that God is there, he does see what is going on and eventually the barren times will come to an end. I know that at some stages in my Christian faith the only thing that kept me in church, praying and taking part was that I made a promise that I would do these things in front of a lot of people and I am blooming well not going to break my promise!
This Psalm strikes a chord with my experience -
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?
Perhaps David's response actually is helpful -
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 wicked men will rejoice when he falls.
David is not sugar coating this - it is, apparently literally, life or death to him
Then trusting in God's nature and in the history David knows of God he says
I trust in your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in your salvation.
Then an action - I will sing the LORD'S praise, for he has been good to me.
In my time there have been times when I have been close to God and believe that God was close to me - the memory of these times did keep me going during the times that God was far away and probably looking the other way from where I was.
Please don't be discouraged if God seems a long way off and keeping faith is, in the words of Rudyard Kipling
If you believe in God, has he ever felt so far away that he might as well have forgotten you?
David did, and there have been times, if I'm honest, that I have felt this way too - in my experience living faith sometimes means that one simply has to carry on in the utter belief that God is there, he does see what is going on and eventually the barren times will come to an end. I know that at some stages in my Christian faith the only thing that kept me in church, praying and taking part was that I made a promise that I would do these things in front of a lot of people and I am blooming well not going to break my promise!
This Psalm strikes a chord with my experience -
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?
Perhaps David's response actually is helpful -
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 wicked men will rejoice when he falls.
David is not sugar coating this - it is, apparently literally, life or death to him
Then trusting in God's nature and in the history David knows of God he says
I trust in your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in your salvation.
Then an action - I will sing the LORD'S praise, for he has been good to me.
In my time there have been times when I have been close to God and believe that God was close to me - the memory of these times did keep me going during the times that God was far away and probably looking the other way from where I was.
Please don't be discouraged if God seems a long way off and keeping faith is, in the words of Rudyard Kipling
..... force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
From "IF"
I find Sometimes going through the motions is all there is. It is either motions or nothing - if that is where you are I pray that God will give light to your eyes and surround you with his unfailing love
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