Psalm 13

How long, O LORD ? Will You forget me forever ? How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day ? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O LORD my God ; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
And my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.
But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness ; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.
 
Psalm 13 seems to express many of my own feelings at this time in my life. The past three and a half years have been very different than I expected, and at many times I have felt forgotten as David expresses here. Many days have gone by and are here now that it seems God has forgotten my dreams and desires. Many months have gone by that I feel I do not have a close connection with Him, though I seek Him.



The phrase “take counsel in my soul” reminds me of the many hours of thinking and analyzing the situation I find myself in. How long will I sit and analyze all aspects of this situation I don’t like, turning it over and over in my mind and driving myself crazy! This analysis causes sorrow in my heart all day long, as David expresses.


In the Psalms when I read “my enemies,” I often think of my personal enemies as the devil and his demons. I don’t have an army surrounding me or a king and his soldiers hunting me as David did, but I know that because of my relationship with Christ, Satan is hunting me and trying to snare me. How long will it seem that he has victory in my life? How long will he be able to celebrate because of my misery?


Verse 5 and 6 of this psalm are both soothing and challenging to me. Like David, I have trusted God’s lovingkindness and been the recipient of God’s great grace. In my sorrow, I don’t always return to these facts, but David reminds me that this is what I need to do. I need to remember God’s great lovingkindness towards me, remember the meaning of my salvation and the price God paid for it, and praise my God! Life may not be what I expected, but I have received a gift I do not deserve. “He has dealt bountifully with me.” There are things on this earth I may not have, but eternally and spiritually, I have Yahweh- I have everything.