1. O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? 2. How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
David was feeling abandoned and he asks God four times...how long oh Lord??? I have felt that exact way. The trials and the suffering become so familiar that you cannot see an end. You are not able to see an outcome. You cry out, "God I cannot handle this for one more day"!
The truth is we cannot handle the trials that come our way in this life. We cannot handle the sadness that overtakes us. We cannot handle a bad report from the Doctor. We cannot handle watching people suffer. We cannot handle trauma. But God can!!!! I don't believe He wants us to try and handle our own issues in any way. If you are anything like me, when you try to "handle" things, you fail.
The pains of this life are inevitable...you will feel deep despair. You will feel rejection and abandonment. You will lose loved ones. There will be things in this life that you cannot handle but God can and will if you will put your strength solely in Him. He doesn't expect us to be strong, He expects us to be dependent on Him!
I have had such great pain in my life and I know it will continue because we live in a very dark, sinful world. BUT...I have the hope of knowing that any trial I endure, with God's strength and my dependence on Him, I can walk through the fire and not be burned.
The last two verses in Psalm 13 say this:
5. But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. 6. I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me.
David was weak in his own strength. He admitted his weakness. His flesh cried out to God in his despair but just three verses later he says I trust you God. You have rescued me. I will sing to you. In His weakness, God made him strong enough to be able to write verses 5 and 6.
Today, I boast about my weakness. I have made horrible decisions in my life. I have hurt more people than I can count. I have been deeply hurt by people. I have lost loved ones. I have been deeply sick and had physical pain that I thought would kill me. I have wanted to end my life. I have gotten news that I never thought I would. But, in my weakness, in my frailty, HE IS GOD...He is my strength. He is the reason I have hope - the reason I breathe. He is the reason I am alive! To tell of His great love - His redemption.
Go ahead...boast in your weakness today!!! Its okay - be weak. Let Him be strong for you! Take a moment of quiet on your knees and let it all go. Let the control go. Sing to Him and hear Him sing over you and wrap His arms around you right where you are! My friends, He loves you. He will never let you go...call out to Him!
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:30 (NLT) - If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.
John 16:33 (NLT) - I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.
AMEN!