How Long?

READ: PSALM 13:1-6

How long, God? Why is it taking forever for things to get better? Why can’t my life turn around and be all that I hoped for? Why do you feel so far from me? How long, God, is it going to feel like this? How long can I survive like this?

You may have had thoughts like these at times, and they are similar to the thoughts of David when he wrote Psalm 13. In this psalm, David asks God if He will forget him forever. That’s the way he’s feeling as he writes—forgotten and abandoned. He is sorrowful and wrestling with difficult thoughts.

That might be just the way you feel sometimes. You might feel alone. You might worry about a hundred things at once. Your life might feel messy, and you might feel like God is far from you. But the truth is, God is so very near. He loves us so much that Jesus died and rose again to make the way for us to be with Him always. Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can know that, even in our worst moments, Jesus is right there with us. He weeps with us and offers hope, comfort, and strength. And one day, He will make all wrongs right. When we rest in these truths, it can help us remember that God is trustworthy. He loves us, and He never leaves us.

That’s what David does in Psalm 13. In the end, he remembers that God has been good to him. He might have felt abandoned for a time, but he knows that God is always good. David even says that he will sing praise to the Lord.

When we struggle, we can cry out and ask God how long we’re going to feel that way. We can tell Him how abandoned and forgotten we feel. We can process all our messy feelings with Him. As we do this, the Holy Spirit helps us remember how good God is and rest in the truth that He is with us. He has always loved us, and always will. • Bethany Acker

• When we read lament psalms like Psalm 13, it can be tempting to skip right down to the “good part” in verses 5-6. We might want to skip over our feelings of hurt, sorrow, and frustration. But that’s not what God wants for us. He is not afraid of our feelings. Instead of skipping these uncomfortable emotions, He invites us to process them with Him, even if that means telling Him how angry we are at Him. Are there any uncomfortable feelings you need to process with God right now? He invites us to come to Him in prayer and be honest with Him so He can bring healing to our hearts.

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. Psalm 13:5 (NIV)