THE LOVE OF GOD FOR HIS PEOPLE NEVER FAILS

While reading Psalm 13, I was impressed to send you a few words of encouragement I have gleaned from this blessed chapter.

David penned the words contained in this Psalm. He asked, “How long will you forget me, Lord? Forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I have sorrow in my heart daily? How long will the enemy be exalted over me?”

It sounds as if David felt that God had altogether left him to suffer, to wake up each day with a black cloud hanging over him. For a season, David spoke out of despair: “God, will this feeling of isolation go on forever? When will my prayers be answered?”

When troubles assail us though we know we love the Lord – when deliverance seems distant and hopeless – we sink under the pressure. Right now, someone reading these words is sinking under the awful pressure of a situation that seems to be unsolvable. They are on the verge of total despair, hoping a calm will come if only for a break in their trial.

In the midst of his own trial, David asked, “How long shall I take counsel in my soul?” He had formed one plan after another, trying to devise ways out of his trouble – but all his plans, all arrangements, had failed. Now he had nothing else to think of, no workable solution. He was at the end of it all.

How upsetting it is to see a ray of hope, a bit of sunshine, but then despair once again sets in. Keep in mind, this all happened to a godly man, someone after God’s heart. David was a man who testified of having great trust in the Lord. Yet, like us, David went through hard times, as he describes in this Psalm.

How did David arise from this pit of despair? “I will trust in your mercy… I will sing.”

Let me share with you reasons to keep trusting your way through your present trials:

• No matter how the storms may rage, our precious Lord will still be feeding the fowls of the air, dressing the lilies of the field, and supplying an ocean full of fish with their daily needs. “Your heavenly Father feedeth them…” Not one bird ever falls to the ground without the Father’s eye upon it.

• What kind of Father would feed all the creatures of the earth and yet neglect his children? Jesus exhorted us to “give no thought” to everyday needs and problems, “for he careth for you.”

Truly, the Lord loves you, and he will not turn a deaf ear to your cries. Hold on to his promises. Move on in faith. Wait on him patiently. He will never fail you.