Ever feel like God's not listening? Ever feel like the Lord is a million miles away and there is nothing that can close the distance? Maybe it is a painful circumstance in your life that will not go away. You've prayed for month's or even years for God to intervene and there is no obvious change in the situation. Perhaps it is a dream or desire that has remained unfulfilled in the midst of continual crying out to God. I have never talked to a Christian who has not experienced, at one time or another, the silence of God during a desperate time of need. Has the Lord really abandoned us in these times or is there another perspective?
Psalms 13 begins with David crying out to God and asking why the Lord has forgotten him while the enemy closes in. Looking back on the life of David, you may be wondering what there was to complain about. Isn't this the shepherd boy who valiantly kills the largest warrior of Israel's fiercest enemy? After this he is then brought into the King's palace, is given King Saul's daughter in marriage and eventually takes over the throne. Sounds pretty good huh? Let's look a little closer.
Because David was such a successful warrior, King Saul festered with jealousy until he drove David into the wilderness and hunted him for years. David assembled a misfit army and lived in the caves of Ziklag. Several times his men threatened to kill him because their circumstance were so dire. This all took place AFTER the prophet of the Lord anointed David king of Israel. Had God forgotten about His promise to David? Was David left to die at the hand of a jealous king while the Lord hid His face? As the story unfolds we see David go from rags to riches as God finally hands him the kingdom He promised years before. While we have the luxury of reading the story of David's life from beginning to end in a matter of minutes, our lives are being played moment by moment.
We as humans tend to see our lives in small blips. When our situation becomes dire the temptation to believe that the Lord has forgotten His child is all too enticing. If we are not delivered from our trial in short order the conclusion is that God no longer cares for us and He has taken His eyes off of us. Our greatest fear as Christians is to be deserted by the God that we have put our faith and trust in. Isn't it? Did God leave David? No way. His mighty hand was on David delivering him from every trouble. The God of the universe watched David like a hawk to be sure that the promise He made to him would be fulfilled. As followers of Jesus Christ, we too have been given many promises. It is during the trails of our lives that we will find the hand of God working for our deliverance to complete the promises even though we cannot feel it. David concludes Psalm 13 with this:
"I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me."
Look back over your life and see if the Lord has not dealt bountifully with you. I believe He will continue because He does actually love us.
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