So many of the psalms in Scripture have been such an encouragement to me the last seven months, but Psalm 13 has particularly helped me in a time of suffering. This is a brief psalm of David that moves from his cries of anguish in the first two verses to his trust in and praise for the Lord in the last two verses.
It’s a good thing to cry out to the Lord when you are frustrated, in pain, dealing with grief, discouraged, feeling helpless or hopeless, or lonely. Jesus cried out to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane to remove the cup from Him (Luke 22:42) and on the cross when He asked the Father why He had forsaken Him (Matt. 27:46).
David cries out “How long?” four times in vv. 1-2. The intensity and longevity of David’s suffering has led him to believe he is abandoned by God, “Will you forget me forever?” (v.1) and that God’s blessings have stopped, “Will you hide your face from me?” (v.1). We all have raw thoughts and emotions that can be very dark in the midst of suffering, just as David did, “Must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all day?” (v.2). We should be honest with God about our struggles in times of hardship.
However, our cries of despair must turn at some point to praise, as David does in vv. 5-6, to trust in God’s love for us, “I have trusted in your steadfast love” (v.5), rejoice at the salvation He gives us, “my heart shall rejoice in your salvation” (v.5), and sing to Him for the way He works in our life for good, “I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me” (v.6). We must turn from our anguish to praise even through our darkest days.
It’s okay to have moments in our lives that resemble vv. 1-2, but we cannot stay there. We must ask God to move us to vv. 5-6 and live in a state of trust and praise for God who is always at work for His glory and for the good of those who love Him.
How do we make the transition in times of suffering from anguish to praise and trust? In v.3, David prayed, “Consider answer… give light to my eyes.” We must be faithful to keep coming to God in prayer sharing our heart and our needs with Him even when we do not feel like it. We must also keep reading and studying the Word.
What gives light to our eyes to help us navigate difficult times? The Word of God! Psalm 119 is the great psalm on the Word of God and repeatedly describes how the Word helps us when we are suffering. Here are just a few examples:
v.28 — “My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!”
v.92 — “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.”
v.143 — “Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight.”
Finally, we must consider that our present trials are temporary and that one day our faith will be sight in the perfect and painless presence of Jesus for eternity.
“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:17-18).
Serving Jesus with You,
Todd Fisher
