NOVEMBER 20, 2012
Not
Abandoned
Read: Psalm 13
How long, O Lord? Will
You forget me forever? How long will You hide
Your face from me? —Psalm 13:1
As
Karissa Smith was browsing in a local library with her babbling
4-month-old
daughter, an older man rudely told her to quiet her
baby or he would. Smith
responded, “I am very sorry for whatever
in your life caused you to be so
disturbed by a happy baby, but I
will not tell my baby to shut
up, and I will not let you do so either.”
The man put his head down and
apologized, and told her the story
of how his son died of Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome over 50 years
ago. He had repressed his grief and anger all those
years.
In
Psalm 13, David expressed his grief. He addressed God with raw
and honest
language: “How long, O Lord?
Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?” (v.1).
These questions
reflected fears of abandonment. David’s language of distress
gave
way to a plea for help and reaffirmation of his faith in God’s love for
him (vv.3-6). Confidence and firm resolve came alongside the cry of
distress.
We
all go through dark nights of the soul when we wonder if God has
abandoned us.
As with David, our aching can give way to joy when we
approach God honestly,
plead for help, and reaffirm our trust in a God
whose love for us will never
waver or change.
Christ is the answer to heartache,
Christ is the answer to pain;
Though by all others forsaken,
He at your side will remain. —Elwell
God will never leave us nor forsake us.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
