“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Psalm 13:1
I have to admit that I find it rather reassuring that King David felt this way, too. I know that the Bible tells me numerous times in many different ways that God will never leave me or forsake me. I know that God promises to never abandon me. I know that His Word teaches me that He will always be with me, no matter how far I try to run from Him. There is nowhere I can go to escape His presence. This I know.
Still, there have been times I have felt so alone. I have felt overlooked. Forgotten. I have uttered the same desperate cry that King David penned in Psalm 13. When the waiting seemed as if it would never end, I have questioned the Lord, demanding He answer my questions of when and why. I’ve been there. My guess is that you have as well. What do you do when you feel forgotten by God?
You and I must remember that God is not a feeling. The reality of His constant presence with us is not determined by whether or not we “feel” Him. He is not an emotion or a fleeting sense of happiness. He is always here, drawing even nearer to us in our pain than in our strength. King David knew this to be true, because his desperate cry was followed by a determined resolve:
“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 13:5-6
Although David’s present circumstances weren’t quickly changing and tempted him to believe that God had forgotten him because his enemies remained in hot pursuit of him, he still wrote verses 5 and 6. A right response. He knew that God is trustworthy and faithful. Even though he was forced to wait far longer than he had dreamed he’d need to see God deliver him, he continued to come back to his foundation – God was for him, not against him. God was good to him; therefore he would await God’s goodness even still. Aren’t you relieved to know that our circumstances NEVER alter God’s character? David came to this understanding, and it resulted in an attitude of praise.
I don’t know what you’re facing today, and the last thing I intend to do is to make light of it. I simply want to point your gaze to the liberating truth of God’s Word, which tells us more than once, lest we forget, that God never forgets us. God never abandons us. God never leaves us. If you feel He has, cry out like David did, but couple that cry with his closing words as well. Trust in God’s steadfast love. Rejoice, if in nothing else, than His salvation that He has graciously extended to you. Sing to the Lord, even if through tears. The broken road you find yourself on right now is a road that God can use to bring you back to His arms.
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