Psalm 13:1-6

The silence of God in the midst of distress can be one of the most difficult realities that we must face.  Times of trial are difficult in and of themselves, but when it seems that God is distant it makes those things even harder to face.  When that happens, we can do one of two things; we can become discouraged and doubt God or we can be confident and continue to call out to Him.  Obviously the correct choice is to trust Him no matter how the circumstances appear to us and how distant God seems from us.  We must remember that things are not always as they seem to be to us.  God’s will and ways are often beyond our ability to detect and decipher.  We must commit ourselves to stand firm in our faith especially in the face of hardship.

DAVID ASKS GOD TO REMEMBER HIM: These first verses sound very much like they could have come from the mouth of Job when he was under distress and God seemed to be far away from him.  There are times when we may feel like the Lord has forgotten us, is hiding from us and has abandoned us.  Those feelings are not true no matter how real they seem.  God never forgets anything or anyone.  He is omniscient so he knows everything past, present and future.  He has promised never to leave or forsake us and He always keeps His promises.  However, we are not always aware of or able to find evidence of His presence.  We simply are not able to see the spiritual realities that surround us.  In these situations it is perfectly fine for us to call out to God and ask Him to reveal Himself to us so that we can understand.  He may not answer us as we expect but that should not discourage us from asking.

DAVID APPEALS FOR GOD TO DELIVER HIM: Even though David feels like God has abandoned and forgotten Him; he continues to appeal for God to reveal Himself and deliver him from the enemies that are surrounding him.  David seems to know that his feelings do not reflect reality.  He recognizes that the problem is not with God but with the lack of “light” in his own eyes.  God is please when we admit our weakness and when we ask for His help.  Our greatest desire and our earnest request should be to know God and gain an understanding of Him.  We must recognize that apart from God we are hopeless.  Apart from God we would be dead and our enemies would triumph over us.  However, God is with us and we can appeal for Him to deliver us because He is more than able to do so.


DAVID ASSURES GOD OF HIS TRUST IN HIM: David declares his trust in the Lord and the assurance that He has that He will be delivered and be able to rejoice in praise before the Lord.  We have a tendency to project our present distress upon the future which causes us to lose hope because we think that things will just keep getting worse.  God calls us to look at the future He has promised, trust Him and rejoice in the hope that He gives us.  We must always remember that no matter how hard things get; in the end God will prevail, He will save and He will bless abundantly.  David declares His confidence in the fact that one day he will rejoice and sing in the salvation and bounty of the Lord.  God’s promises should fill our hearts with faith and hope especially during the difficult days.

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