Verse: Psalm 13
How long, 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 day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and 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 the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Devotion
Are you in a season of waiting on God? Are you tired of it? Maybe you are waiting on God to answer a prayer, or help with a relationship issue, or help with a job problem, or speak to you about your future plans. Maybe you are praying for a friend in need, or a family member. Whatever it is, eventually waiting on God gets really difficult. At first, waiting on God seems noble. But then after a while, it is easy for doubt, desperation, and disappointment to creep in.
This is where David is when he writes this Psalm. I love the words he writes that so accurately describe our reality when we are just tired of waiting on God: "How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?" David is clearly in emotional turmoil. He is trying to hold onto hope, but his patience is wearing thin. Poetically he feels like he is close to death, tired of waiting, and hopeless. The Psalm starts with exactly how we all feel: "How long, Lord?"
That's the problem isn't it? We don't know how long it will be. And until it's over, it feels like it will last forever!! The last stanza is the hope we all need.
He brings himself around to remember the unfailing love of God, his salvation, and that God has always been good to him. Remember this today if you are tired of waiting for God. God's love is unfailing. It doesn't fail. Whatever he is doing in your life he will not fail. This doesn't mean you and I always get what we want, when we want it. It means that in his great wisdom and love, what he wants to accomplish in our lives will not fail.
The encouragement for us today is this: You can trust that he will be good to you. His love will not fail you. His salvation is coming. So don't give up. Even though you are tired of waiting on God, he is working. You can trust in his unfailing love.