How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?But this short psalm concludes (v. 5-6):
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.Surely the middle of this psalm must contain some clue as to how to handle the adverse situations we find ourselves in -- no matter the circumstance, the author of the psalm says that he will trust the Lord. Let's look closely, then, at the middle two verses:
Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fail.It sounds like the author of the psalm (David) knew some things about God that we tend to forget. First, God is on the side of good. He wants good to triumph over evil. The "enemy" of the psalm is the same enemy that makes us turn from God today -- the devil, who is really working hard to bring about the destruction of God's people, even as God is trying to save us. Second, God desires to save us from ourselves. David seems to be reminding God that God has something at stake here, too -- his name will be tarnished if those who trust in him are put to shame. God doesn't really need this reminder, though -- he's always intervening on the side of good. David is expressing his desire to have God notice him, to "answer" him, and God is always already answering. His answers don't always take the form we expect, but he is aware of our troubles and wants the good for us. Finally, God will always overcome evil with good. That's why David asks God for light, because light overcomes darkness every time.
So working through this psalm to the center, I find reassurance that God is light, and light has come into the world in the form of Jesus, to ultimately bring us out of the darkness.
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