The first thing we must notice as we read this psalm is the repetition of the statement, “How long?” David asks how long God will forget, how long God will hide His face, how long he must wrestle with his thoughts and sorrows, and how long his enemies will triumph. Four times David cries out to the Lord, “How long?” We are left with the understanding that whatever David is crying out about has been going on for quite a long time. The length of David’s suffering has been so long that David asks if God is going to forget him forever.
We have all been in such times of despair when it is difficult to even remember when better times existed in our lives. The feelings of loss and abandonment are so great that one is unable to see when the end will come. It is important that we recognize that this is the nature of trials. Very rarely are we able to see when the trial will end. Even worse, we are unable to see what the final outcome will be from the trial. This is the type of emotion upon which David expresses these words. How many times we must wrestle with our emotions when we are suffering or in the midst of trial! Our minds may tell us to give up, to give in, and tell us things that are not truthful. This battle has already been expressed by David. David knows in reality that God has not left him.
How can we know that God has not turned His face from us? How can we know that God will bless us? I believe the answer is simple and it is the same reason David could know that God would remain with him: because God has done so in the past. Notice that David speaks in the past tense. God has been good to him. God has dealt bountifully with me. God has done far more for us than we usually can remember. If God has done these things in the past, why would He not continue? He loves His children and His love is unfailing. Why would we doubt that God would not continue to take care of us? We need to sing about the goodness of God. God has given us more than we can imagine and treated us far better than we deserve. When we feel abandoned, let us turn to God in prayer. Then let us know that God’s love is unfailing toward us.
