“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.”
- Psalm 13:5-6 -

Four times in the psalm 13 David asks God a question that begins ‘How long… ?’ It is more of a complaint than a question. In the opening third of this psalm (vs 1,2), David presents his anxiety from the depths with shocking honesty. We should not resist this ourselves. The Lord knows our distress even before we verbalize it.

Having protested, David’s petition in prayer shifts to the source of his hope (vs 3,4). While speaking to God, he simultaneously addresses his own thoughts, shining light into his dark situation and declaring victory into his previously defeatist mindset. It’s in the second third of the psalm that David, in prayer, begins to climb upwards from the depths.

We’re given no indication that David’s circumstances have changed, yet he’s moved from a place of desperation to one of rejoicing. In the concluding third of the psalm (vs 5,6) David expresses a song of faith as he places his trust in his God by recalling his goodness in the past. This is a consistent pattern throughout the psalms and one we’d do well to imitate. Be assured that it is not wrong to sense abandonment from God at times. As Gerald Wilson reflects, ‘Often when one is most firmly in the center of God’s purpose and will are attacks most severe and God seems most distant.’ May we be courageous in expressing ourselves with honesty to our Lord, while confident in his desire to shine light into dark places and peace into the chaos.

Prayer: Loving Lord, when the center of my life collapses, may the assurance of your embracing love hold me firm and true.

(from Encounter with God)