How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:1-2,5-6 ESV

When David wrote this psalm to the Lord, he was in despair and lamenting before God. This was not uncommon to David. He was transparent before the Lord because he knew that nothing was hidden from Him. Yet in his despair, he trusted in His steadfast love, rejoicing in the Lord’s salvation (Psalm 13:5). He sang to the Lord, realizing that though his despair was plentiful, God’s ways toward him were more bountiful (Psalm 13:6). It is a beautiful picture of our salvation in Christ! Even in our suffering and crying out to God with a “How long, O Lord?”, we remember His steadfast love in redeeming us. Our lament turns to joy as we sing of the Lord’s faithfulness and His amazing grace.

The book of Psalms reminds us of real and ever-present human struggles. It seems almost irreverent to consider asking God such a question in the midst of trial and difficulty. Yet, we are reminded that these hymns are inspired by God and are part of Scripture. Psalms of lament are the largest category making up this particular book in the Bible. We see men like David expressing the raw nature of fallible men before a holy God. We can all relate because we all suffer. We all hurt. The difference between a believer in Christ and an unbeliever is we can go before the throne of grace in our weakness, and we can do this because of Jesus Christ. To pretend we do not endure anguish, concern, pain, and fear is to deny God’s omniscience, and acknowledging our weakness before God does not diminish our faith in the Lord. It confirms it all the more.

When we begin to think of the language used in various psalms as well as other accounts in Scripture involving questions and cries to God, we may find ourselves asking questions. For those of us who have been familiar with teachings of the power of your words, we may consider the fact the psalmists did not seem to consider the power of their words in expressing depression and weariness. There are people who refuse to receive doctor’s reports or negative news because of the power of words and the perception that receiving a bad report is a lack of faith in God. But the faith we have is in Christ to save us and to trust Him no matter what this life may bring, including reports bringing difficulty and pain. We can have His peace while sojourning through this world along the road of perseverance. We cannot speak our desired reality into existence, and we are never promised a life free of trouble and pain. We take solace in God’s eternal promises and the coming glory as we will worship Him and enjoy Him forever. We praise Him when prayers are answered with a yes and when they are not.

There are people who may privately feel ashamed for having doubt or fear in a situation, and they may not want to admit they have asked God, “How long is this going to last? When does this trial end?” Questions such as these may seem powerless and gutted of personal strength. But asking Him is all right, and apart from Christ, we are weak and helpless. Asking such a question reminds us of our utter dependence upon the Lord to comfort us and to quiet our anxious thoughts by His Spirit and the truth of His Word. We learn from the psalmists not only to ask questions in difficulty and to lay bare our dependency upon God, but to praise Him and to give thanks in all circumstances. We are encouraged in His steadfast love and His forbearance with us in our weakness, and we praise the Lord even in a minor key.

Something beautiful happens when we can keep our eyes on Christ in the darkest of times and in our brokenness. We not only learn how to lean on God and to understand the importance of prayer, but we learn from where our help comes. We learn to praise God no matter how the prayer is answered because though circumstances change, He changes not. We can see in this psalm that David’s perspective changed from verse 4 to verse 5. There is no indication his situation changed, but his perspective did, and when that happened, he began to rejoice and to sing unto the Lord. His lack in the trial brought a realization of God’s bounty in His love and salvation. We all have moments when we sing from the mountain tops, but when we can rejoice in the darkest valleys after uttering a “How long, O Lord?”, we come out on the other side realizing that God works all things for the good of those who love Him, and suffering is never wasted.

Portions of this blog were taken from an article written for Christianity.com

Listen to the latest episode of The Lovesick Scribe podcast for an in-depth discussion about lamenting Psalms and how we handle the moments asking God, How Long, O Lord? – The Lovesick Scribe Podcast | Podcast on Spotify