How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hind 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?
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 my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise
for he has been good to me.
Psalm 13
Being on the New Road with Jesus isn’t meant to be easy. You may be going through life without many cares in the world. Things may be going quite well for you. And that’s ok.
But things might not be going well for you either. You may feel like the psalmist here. And that’s ok.
Have you ever asked these questions? When have you wondered whether or not God is paying attention to you in your life?
Those feelings are real and normal. They serve as a reminder that this world is not our home. They remind us that this world is not the be all and end all. There will be pain. There will be suffering. Others may win, while you lose. There may be thoughts, attitudes and hopes that you are wrestling with. You may be calling out to God, and he doesn’t seem to answer.
Where does the psalmist find comfort? Where does his New Song come from?
It comes from God’s unfailing love. It comes from his salvation. It comes from remembering God’s goodness.
Now, his problems are real problems. They are real doubts, real concerns. He doesn’t know why things are happening the way they are.
But the psalmist does not let what he doesn’t make him doubt what he does know. While he doesn’t know why his life is going the way it is, that doesn’t mean he doubts God’s goodness shown through history. He doesn’t let his feelings about life impact his life as much as what he knows about God’s goodness.
You may be going through some hard times, or know a Christian brother or sister who is. Those doubts are hardships are real and painful. Those feelings are a natural part of our broken world. But so is God. So is what he has down in history. So is sending his son to die, for us, to bring us the salvation that this psalm mentions.
There are times when life is hard, and that is normal. But that doesn’t mean we should doubt God when he shown us so clearly on the cross that he loves us. Despite the times when life is hard, we have a New Song because of Jesus that makes sense of sufferings. Our New Song reminds us how Jesus suffered for us and promises that our new home will be without our suffering.
Grow Deeper
Read Psalm 28. How does the psalmist wrestle with this question? What does he know about God’s goodness? How does that translate into how he prays?
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
There are times when life is hard. There are times when I am not sure that you are in control. There are times when I doubt you really are good.
I pray that I would continue to remember that this world is not my home. I pray I would remember that you have shown your goodness to me in Jesus. I pray that would govern my thoughts and actions as I follow you.
I pray that as I help other brothers and sisters who are struggling, I pray I would not dismiss their pain but point to Jesus as the one who has saved us and promises a better home ahead.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.