“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide 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.” (Psalms 13 NIV)
I don’t know about you, but I can totally relate with what David is saying in these verses. In my walk with Jesus, I have experienced times (extended periods of time) when I felt as if God had forgotten all about me, and wouldn’t even look my way. That sweet communion that I enjoyed with the Lord was only a memory that brought no comfort, but actually served to torture my soul as I struggled to understand what was going on. The “enemy” seemed to have the upper hand, defeating me at every turn.
For the lover of God, there can be no greater torment than the perceived absence of His presence. The “sparkle” in your eyes grows dim, and even death itself seems a distinct possibility. You can hear the enemy whisper, “I knew this would happen, and now your God has abandoned you. I’ve got you now!” Perhaps there are even those who rejoice that you are in such a state. At times like this, there is great heaviness and darkness, panic can easily set in. But it doesn’t end there!
Along with the psalmist, we may trust in the unfailing, loyal love of God. But although we idealize men like David; dare I say that we are in a better position than he ever was? For you see, Jesus has come! The Father has caused us to be placed in him and He in us. The kingdom of God is within you. He became everything that we are so that we may share in all that He is. The eternal love that God has always known within himself, the holy love of the Father, Son and Spirit is ours in Christ. We are connected to Him like branches to a vine. The very life of God is in us, flowing through us if you will, in the Spirit. The One David knew in part, and prophesied about in part has come. It is finished! And we are in Jesus. Talk about rejoicing. Talk about singing. Oh yeah, God has been “berry,” “berry” good to us!
We all go through hard times, times when it seems like God has left the building. But be reminded, you are the “building” God resides in. The Father has placed you in Jesus, and shared with you the eternal holy love of God. He would no more leave you than He would the Son. Think on that, and rejoice in the Lord.
NLI Ministries 