Aug 29 - Psalm 13:1

How long, O Lord?

Will you forget me forever?

Psalm 13:1

NRSV

Have you ever had a day like Alexander?

Alexander says, “I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair … and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”

That’s the introductory line from Judith Viorst’s classic children’s book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Have you ever had a day like Alexander?

A second – and more important – question is: Have you ever had a day like David?

David was anointed the future king over Israel, but it surely didn’t feel like it. David spent half a book of the Bible being chased around the Middle East by the current king of Israel. Those were some terrible, horrible, no good, very bad years.

Have you ever had decades like that?

I have too many friends who’ve been swallowed – for years – by grief, guilt, and anger, by abuse and illness, addiction and pain.  Like David …

•     Have you ever felt forgotten? David cries, “1 O LORD, how long will you forget me?”
•     Have you ever felt worthless and invisible? David pleads, “1 How long will you look the other way?”
•     Have you ever felt like your faith was drowning? David questions? “2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
•     Have you ever felt like grief was going to swallow you? David worries about the “2 sorrow in [his] heart every day.”
•     Have you ever been stabbed in the back or felt like someone was out to get you? And have you ever felt like the bad guys were winning? David did. He cried, “2 How long will my enemy have the upper hand?”

What do we do in situations like this?

The world has some good – and not so good – advice:

•     Some say treat yourself. You deserve it.
•     Others says don’t treat yourself, because what your treating yourself with is probably bad for you. (Spoil sports!)
•     Some say go to bed early because things will look brighter in the morning. (Except if you have my problem, the bad stuff often happens first thing in the morning. Maybe I should just spend the rest of the day in bed!)
•     Others say distract yourself (because apparently TV is so good for you).
•     Some urge perspective.
•     Others suggest exercise – which actually is a very good release.

Probably the best worldly advice is not bad Christian advice either:

•     Help others. (Not only is there joy in blessing others, but it takes your focus off of yourself.)

I think I’ll stick, however, with David’s advice …

      Look up. David cries, “3 Restore the light to my eyes.” When we look down, the situation often looks dark and hopeless. When we look up, we’re looking to the source of light to restore our light.

      Remember: I like to remind people that when problems are rushing at you at sixty miles per hour (like bugs flying at the windshield), remember the rearview mirror. When we look back at all the times God has blessed us in the past, it’s easier to be confident as present and future problems rush at us. That’s what David says in verse 6. I’ll add a few words so it’s easier to see: “Because he has been so good to me [in the past] … I will sing to the LORD [in the present and in spite of my current circumstances].

      Pray: Whenever you begin to think, “3 turn and answer me, O LORD my God,” you’re remembering that your first and greatest need to turn and pray to him. God often and intentionally waits for us to ask before he answers. It’s not because he doesn’t care; it’s that he cares more about the permanent relationship than the temporary problem.

      Trust … before the answer comes: Some people wait until the answer comes to begin giving thanks. That’s natural. And that’s thanksgiving. Trust is giving thanks before the answer comes. Trust is knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God heard and that God will somehow, in the end, use this circumstance to bless our eternal existence … if we let him. Some circumstances turn people away from God – for a short while or permanently. But David gives us a model of faith. “But,” says David, “[in spite of circumstances,] I trust in your unfailing love.”

      Give thanks: Notice the verb tense in this next phrase. David says, “I will rejoice because you have rescued me.” To the rest of the world it looks like the enemy is winning. David knows that with God, the victory’s already been won.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who doesn’t have

triskaidekaphobia

(I’m not afraid of number 13

or the enemies in Psalm 13,

I’m trusting in God