Daily Devotional – Sunday, September 10, 2022
How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?
Psalms 13:1 (NKJV)
In Psalm 13, David is in a difficult and desperate situation. He asks, “How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” (Verse 1). Every Christians had been though such moments in the journey of faith.
You have presented your petitions before God. He delays His answers. Time is running out, you feel. Like the disciples in the storm-stricken boat, you ask Jesus, “Master don’t you care that I am perishing.”
How Long Will You Hide Your Face From Me?
David further laments, “How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?” (Verse 2). He even fears that he might die from the pain he is undergoing. (Verse 3).
God allows us to go through moments when He seems to abandon us. Our Saviour experienced the same on the cross and cried out to His Father, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).
There is hope, however. Psalm 13 ends on a hopeful and triumphant note. David says, “But I have trusted in Your mercy. My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.” (Verses 5-6).
God Hides His Faces for a Season and a Reason
Even in the midst of difficult moments and apparent absence of God, we can have hope in the God who allows trials for a reason. Ultimately, God will bring us through the storm and we will praise Him for dealing bountifully with us.
If you are going through trying times today, remember God has not abandoned you. When He is done testing you, you will come out as pure refined gold, fashioned for the heavenly mansion He is building for you.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, whenever I feel like You have abandoned me in my difficulties, remind me it is for a reason and a season.
Sometimes God seems so distant from us, sometimes we question where God is when we really need Him. A writer Hurry Krushner writing a book,”where’s God when I suffer” and many people seek God’s face but He seems hidden.. just like Job in Job 23:8 God’s face was hidden from Job,job says, “But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
The Good news is, It’s only for a season and with a reason. Him hiding helps us learn to be long-suffering. Knowing that His time is the best, and in His right timing when He shows up,It will be glorious.
Amen and Amen, Doc.