Genuine faith isn’t demonstrated until all hope appears lost. This is an incredible Psalm, with a TON of meaning wrapped up in just a few verses.

Here is the video link:

Psalm 13 – Genuine Faith

The audio links for Spotify and iTunes are to the right.

Here is the transcript used for today’s podcast.

Psalm 13

How Long?

1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

How long…How long… How long… How long…

The first four sentences begin with the phrase “How long”. This is the opening prayer/lament of someone who is wrestling with something nobody else sees. It could be depression… it could be anxiety. It could be a lifelong struggle with some health issue with no solution in sight. 

For me, it was anger. I had a temperament that would simmer… and simmer… and then explode. I felt totally out of control when it came to my temper, and was frankly afraid of the uncontrollable nature of it. For years, I prayed, asking God to deliver me from this thing that could hurt so many people around me. I can’t really tell you when it happened but today it is as if that problem never existed. But for over 20 years, it felt like I was trapped, and I just did not understand why God didn’t take it away. How long… How long…How long… How long…

If this is you, please know that you are not alone. Some pretty illustrious folks in the Bible felt the same way. Here is a short list:

Three examples

Elijah

1 Kings 19:3-4

3 Elijah was afraid[a] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”

When Elijah defeated all the prophets of Baal by praying for God to rain down fire from Heaven and burn up their man-made altar, Queen Jezebel was not happy.  As a powerful advocate of the false god, Baal, she threatened Elijah by issuing a death warrant for him. Now, remember, this man had been fearless in confronting the evil king (her husband) and hundreds of Baal’s prophets.

Yet, at Jezebel’s threat, Elijah became so overwhelmed by fear and depression that this great man of faith wanted to die. 

Paul

2 Corinthians 12:7-9

7 “…Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 

“Three times I pleaded…” indicates urgency. Whatever this was that afflicted Paul, it was serious enough that it became more than a simple prayer – Paul PLEADED. Yet this thing – whatever it was – was not lifted out of Paul’s life. It was permanent. This man who had laid his hands on the sick to see God heal them, could not find relief from his own physical ailment.

Jesus

Matthew 27

46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b]

Jesus CRIED OUT. The Saviour Himself felt the soul-crushing emotion of feeling abandoned by God.

Genuine Faith

Feeling abandoned by God in the midst of a struggle that apparently has no end in sight is not lack of faith. Bowing your knee to Him in the midst of the trial – even if He seemingly does not respond – shows GENUINE faith. In each of the cases listed above, the one in the midst of the trial  – Elijah, Paul, Jesus – speaks honestly to God, confessing their grief and puzzlement over apparently NOT being heard by God. They PLEADED (Paul), they CRIED OUT (Jesus) they GAVE UP (Elijah).

That is some of the emotional company that David kept and joins in this Psalm.

David’s response

3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,

Even in the midst of depression, David knows that only God can deliver. If God does not deliver him, he will die. And the thought of his enemies rejoicing if David dies bothers him a great deal. It’s not only David’s reputation as a man after God’s own heart that’s on the line, but God’s reputation as well!

4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

In the face of unyielding depression David has the courage to say the following:

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.

The emphatic “But I” is a surprising response from the heart of a depressed person. Because life may be so bitter for some, it is only by God’s grace that the heart of faith may groan, “but I.”

I trust… in the face of unyielding depression. I trust… in the face of the possibility of getting no relief in this world. I trust YOU, Lord, and Your unfailing love. I trust you meant it when You said to Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 29

10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

God was telling Israel through the prophet that what they were experiencing was not going to be over any time soon. But… do NOT forget… He has a plan for them, and it’s a good plan – a plan that has hope and a future. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and no… it’s not an oncoming freight train. It’s the light of God’s hope.

Genuine Faith, part 2

Knowing this, even in the midst of this depression, the Psalmist can say:

6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.

In the midst of the very thing that is crushing him, David can declare the Lord’a goodness. Genuine faith does not ignore or turn a blind eye to the depression. In the midst of the very thing that crushes, David proclaims the goodness of God.

In His Grip,

Paige