This Devotional is taken from the NEW WOMEN'S DEVOTIONAL BIBLE page 658, Psalm 13:1-6.
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
4 my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.
Never Alone
AT AGE 46, PETER MARSHALL, chaplain of the United States Senate, died of a heart attack. Soon after he died, his wife, Catherine Marshall, stood beside his body. Later she wrote how the presence of God comforted her:
"As I opened the door," she wrote, "there was the instantaneous awareness that I was not alone. Yet the man I loved was not in the still form on the bed. I knew that Peter was near and alive. And beside him another presence of transcendent glory, the Lord he had served through long years." God stood beside Catherine to comfort her in her deepest grief.
In this psalm, the writer found himself feeling so alone, so seemingly abandoned by God, that he plunged into a deep depression and despair that took him to the edge of death. He was wrestling with his thoughts. His sorrow was over whelming.
Perhaps you can relate to such feelings. Perhaps you know what it's like when your thoughts are whirling around in aching confusion. You may know what it's like to plead with God for light, for peace, for an alternative to the spiritual death you think is imminent. Then comes the "but." The psalmist, even as he was suffering terribly, stopped himself with that little word. David chose to trust in God's goodness even when his heart was failing and grieving. Because he knew God, he chose to trust in God's unfailing love and rejoice even in the midst of sorrow.
Did you get that? He said, "But...I will" (verses 5-6) The psalmist made a choice. He made a conscious decision to trust in God's love even when the dark clouds of terror and depression hid God's Face.
David knew this as a fact. And you can know it too: You are never alone. God is always nearby...even when you can't see his face or feel his presence. When you feel alone, call out to him. No matter how you feel, the fact remains: He is here. He is everywhere. And he hears your cries.
Psalm 13:5
But I trust in your unfailing Love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
Refection
1. Have you experienced a time when you couldn't feel God's Presence? When?
2. How did you respond? What did you do?
3. Based on your understanding of Psalm 13, what will you do next time you find yourself feeling
this way?
Related Readings
Deuteronomy 31:1-6; Isaih 54:1-17; Lamentations 3:31-33
Beautiful post to read on a Sunday morning. Sending out my heartfelt condolences to the people listed above & their families. It is a hard thing to deal with when we suffer the lost of a love one. However, he/ she will always live on in our hearts. I would like to answer the reflection questions:
ReplyDelete1. Have you experienced a time when you couldn't feel God's Presence? When?
Yes, when my Mother passed 9 years ago.
2. How did you respond? What did you do?
I slowly shut down finding it hard to function with everyday tasks. After, about 2 1/2 years of hard grieving I decided it was time to seek help. My family needed me & I needed to be healed. With the help of a psychiatrist I finally was able to reach out to God for the answers. Although it was a struggle I was brought out of the darkness into the light.
Based on your understanding of Psalm 13, what will you do next time you find yourself feeling
this way?
I definitely would try reaching out to God first. The path I chose when my mother past was a lonely treacherous one. Total believer that God is the healer of all things. We just have to reach out & trust in him.
Sonya M Jones
Tee-iabo Designs
Thanks for these words Patricia. We're also going through a hard time, my daughter's godsister (16 years old) was informed that doctors couldn't do anything else about her cancer this summer. She is now having seizures, and is steadily loosing speech and motor skills. But last Sunday, she stood up in front of her church and painfully read her 3 page testimony and got baptized. The Holy Spirit was palpatable in the sanctuary and served to remind us that even in the midst of tragedy, God is good. And after we pass from this world we have an eternity to spend getting to know Him and that's amazing. Thanks again for your words hon, I needed to read them.
ReplyDeleteChar
The Epic Adventures of a Modern Mom
http://1epicmom.com
Hopping in from another Blog :)
ReplyDeleteHopping in also :)
ReplyDeleteI am very sorry to read about the many that have now gone to be with the Lord. I lost my Father this past February. the heart has to grieve, but the memories of a loved one make you smile in between. I guess, along with ones faith, it is learning to hold onto those wonderful memories. Don't let them pass through your memory so quickly...learning to let them linger. Those memories, the Word, and Gods love I found very healing. It does take time and thats alright too. :) God bless you all!
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rofl I am having fun watching your mouse on the left side lol
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