“How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death”
– Psalm 13:1-3
I guess in a weird way I find some comfort in David’s season of unknown. Although such seasons can be excruciating, each of us will experience them. With that in mind, there are some great lessons to be learned in studying how David addresses God during this time. First he takes a moment to be “real”, to lament and express the depth of his position (vs1-2). Then he literally asks, tells, begs God to “Look on” him and “answer” (vs.3). Reminds me of Luke 11:
“Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'
"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.” – Luke 11
How does David have the confidence to come to God so bodly? I think it’s shown through the response of his heart. He knows God is faithful. He trusts God because he recalls God’s faithfulness. This allows him to rejoice and even sing.
“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.” Psalm 13:5
No matter the situation, we can do the same.
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How did David get this confidence in God? How did David know God was faithful? David spent time on his relationship with God. He spent time with God. He talked to God. He treated God the way that God wants us to treat Him. David and God were, for lack of a better word, friends. David knew that he could talk to God because he had done it so many times before. We have to spend time with God. We have to grow a relationship with God like we do with our wives or with our children. We just can not assume that because we walk to the front of a church building and "give" our lives to God that the rest of our lives will be just fine and peachy keen. It takes time to build that type of relationship. Time is where our society does not want to invest. We want it yesterday because we are looking on to the next big thing. What would our world look like if we spent the time needed to grow the relationship God wants with us?
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