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How Long, Lord?
By: Tom Norvell
Vol. 13 No. 13 | March 29, 2010
When I read Psalm 13 (a psalm of David), I feel as though I'm reading an entry from my own prayer journal.
1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me.
Oh, don't get me wrong. There have been very few times I've felt that the Lord had forgotten me or hidden his face from me. And there have been only a few times that I've felt like my enemies were about to overtake me and do me in. Though few, I remember those times like they were yesterday. Oh, wait, it was yesterday. (Only kidding. It's been a while.)
But there have been more times than I can count when I've asked, "How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?" Whether it has been over concerns for my own well-being or over concerns for those I love, there have many nights when I have gone to bed thinking "Things will be better in the morning," only to wake up realizing nothing changed during the night. "How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?"
However, let me add that there have been just as many, probably more, times when I have expressed wrestling with my thoughts in the beginning of my prayer, and ended it by saying, "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation."
In fact, that is the mindset I experience quite often. Uncertain. Questioning. Confused. Troubled. Weary. Dumbfounded. Speechless. Trusting. Trusting. Trusting.
The good news is that it is only when I am in that condition that I am able to complete the Psalm, "I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me."
As you read these words you may be asking the same question: "How long, Oh Lord?" How long before the suffering ends? How long before the pain eases up? How long before my marriage gets better? How long before my child comes home? How long before I feel forgiven? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts?
While you ask, "How long?" remind yourself to trust. As you wait and as you ask, trust. Trust in God's unfailing love. Eventually you'll be able to again rejoice in your salvation.
Tom
© Copyright 2010 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.