By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
Psalm 13:1
“Kia pehea te roa o tou wareware ki ahau, e Ihowa? mo ake tonu atu ranei? Kia pehea te roa o tau hunanga i tou mata ki ahau?”
“Ieova e, e te faagalogalo pea lava ia te au seia afea? E te ‘alo ou fofoga ia te au seia afea?”
“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?”
You may have heard the expression 'courageous conversations'... it describes a conversation about a difficult matter that could go to custard.
Psalm 13 Is a psalm of lament. Lament psalms are courageous prayers. In them, we are given a pattern of praying courageously to God about difficult matters. Throughout the psalms of lament, the people of God are almost given 'assertiveness training'. We are being taught how to pray boldly.
In Psalm 13:1, David’s anguish is captured three straight-up questions. He doesn’t beat about the bush. His gut-wrenching cries are expressed by just sixteen words.
How long, O Lord?
Will you forget me forever?
Will you hide your face from me?
David is calling out to God. "Where are you?"
Why are these prayers given to us in the Book of Psalms? Why was Psalm 13 given to us? In the directness of the verse, in the questioning, in the anguish, I want you to see something.
These verses don’t record the absence of faith, but the presence of faith. David isn’t questioning God because of a lack of faith. His confronting questions express a living faith in the Living God.
David isn't doubting God. He's waiting for him. We know this because in response to his questions, David does three things as he waits for the Lord:
He trusts in the Lord's steadfast love.
He rejoices in the Lord's salvation.
He praises the Lord, because of his kindness to him.
Although he is still waiting for the Lord to act, David trusts the unchanging love of God. He reflects on the ways the Lord has already saved him, blessed him and given him far more than he needs. He sings to the Lord in praise and recollection and trust in his character.
There are times we all resonate with David's questions. Our hearts cry out: how long? Where are you?
But as we wait in faith for the Lord to answer, we can do as David does. We can trust, rejoice in, and remember God's sure and unchanging love for us.
