Former Blackout Artist

“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 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? ~ Psalm 13:1-2

Have you ever experienced a season in your life when you felt like giving up? Like no one was listening, that nobody cared? Not even God?

When we think of David, we immediately reflect on his courage and unwavering commitment to God. As a military leader, he defeated the Philistine army so soundly that they never threatened him again. As the king of Israel, he founded the Judaean dynasty, unifying the tribes of Judah under one monarch. He was a beloved leader who had many endearing qualities. But one of the most important was his ability to inspire his people.

But prior to David becoming the man we knew him to be, he had his moments of impatience and discouragement. In fact, it’s quite obvious that he was going through something extremely distressful as he was writing the Psalm referenced above to God.

It’s worth nothing that when David wrote this Psalm, he was hiding out inside a dark cave in Adullam, after having fled the Philistine city of Gath. But the Philistines weren’t the only ones who David was fleeing from; his own father-in-law (Saul) and some of his own people wanted him dead too.

As we read the beginning of 13th Psalm, we can hear incredible sorrow and anguish from the depths of David’s soul. He feels abandoned not only by his own people, but even more so by God. Alone and afraid, he finds himself at what appears to be the very bottom of his life.

How many of us have experienced a similar time in our own lives, like David did, when we simply want to run away from our troubles and hide in a dark cave? That overwhelming feeling of abandonment, rejection, and loneliness? How many of us have posed the same questions he did? “God, how much longer? Have you forgotten me? Don’t you see how much I’m suffering here? Where is the blessing you promised me?”

We all go through dark seasons. If David wasn’t immune to them, neither are we. At some point in life, we all find ourselves sheltering in a dark cave; lonely and afraid, praying that somehow the storms overhead will soon pass.

God heard David’s anguish. He knew precisely where he was in that moment. David had a knack for being impatient, not understanding at the time that he was being tested and groomed for a job worthy of only the most courageous leader Israel would ever know. But as we continue reading the last two verses of David’s song in Psalm 13, we too are challenged to remember who God is and His unfailing love for us, even when we don’t see a way out of our current circumstances.

“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.”

Do we remember this only when times are good, when we have nothing to flee from? Or, like David, do we sing His praises and bring His light into our darkness when it appears?

Don’t give up, friend. No matter how challenging it may seem, God will get us through every difficulty in life, just as He did with David. And as we step into His light once again, His blessing will be revealed to us, too.