Psalm 13 (Listen)
13:1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Devotional:
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, agony in my mind every day? How long will my enemy dominate me? (Psalm 13:1-2 CSB)
“How long? How long, O Lord?” This may be the most common question people ask God. How long will I have this sickness? How long will I fight this addiction? How long will this difficult time in our marriage last? How long will we struggle with finances? We may or may not ever understand the “how long?” questions of life, but we can choose to believe God is good and working out His plan in our life — even when life doesn’t make sense to us. What’s amazing about this Psalm is that it starts with the “how long?” questions, but ends with praise. We can approach our Lord the same way. Let Him know your concerns and then choose to praise Him.
Pray it: Father, help me to trust in you even as I cry out “How long?” May I never fail to give you my heart, both in expressing how I feel but also in entrusting all of my life into your care. Amen.
Share it: Share a verse or thought from this passage with someone today.