How long, O Lord?
I need to be honest here…
I hate to wait.
And wouldn’t you know it…God doesn’t. He is patient and long-suffering. Slow to anger, even.
Yet somehow I feel like I’m entitled to get answers now from him. I have so much to learn.
He feels pretty silent these days. My prayers feel like they bounce off some sort of invisible ceiling lately. I’ve begun to consider the possibility that my prayer life is not to consist of simply asking him for things. Rather, I should spend time with him. I should get to know him more. So, off to his very words I’ve gone.
Luckily, I’m not at a loss for places in scripture where God seemed silent. I immediately think of Job. I also go right to David as well. The Psalms are chocked full of David’s desperate cries to God.
Psalm 13 is one of my favorites, full of such honesty and desperation. I thought it was a fitting text to meditate on and share during this time of silence. Take the time to chew on it for a bit.
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.
His love is to be trusted. Salvation is his. He’s been so good, even in the silence. A part of my heart is changing, not just stirring, and part of that change has been in the silence.
Maybe you’re not feeling him lately. It could be a time to let things die in order for restoration, perhaps. I do know that we all need patience. I can’t get over how patient he’s been with me, after I’ve blown it time and time (and time) again.
I want to have patience. I want to trust him. He’s been good to me.
I blogged on this post just last week (I did, however, take a bit of a different take on it) http://proetry.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/the-heart-of-the-matter/. Thanks for the reminder that God is patient and slow to anger. I get so easily carried away with instant gratification.
Stacey-just read your post on Ps. 13…good, good stuff. I like the different take on it.
“His love is to be trusted” — that’s a great little nugget right there!
one of my frequent prayers is that He would fill me with the assurance that He is trustworthy. fully trusting Him would certainly make the wait so much easier…
I don’t know how many times I’ve prayed, “God, I’m going to need you to help me trust you…” I feel a bit embarrassed praying that, but sometimes I just don’t trust him, even when I know that he’s never broken a promise. Weird. Human, I guess.
Thanks for your comments ’round here, Alece….makes things interesting.
For all who read this, go to her blog pronto. You’ll be very glad.