How long will you look the other way?
2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he is good to me.
It would seem God sometimes hides His face, and leaves His own children in the dark .
There times I pray in earnest during a time when God is so silent the darkness seems to be the only answer. My anxious cares are heavy burdens that I, as a believer, often load on myself more than need be. It is a common temptation, when trouble lasts long, to think that it will last always. When there is long period without joy, hope dims. During these times, I long for God's favor; there is nothing more reviving than the return of it. The sudden, delightful changes in Psalms are often very remarkable. The Psalmist passes from depth of despondency to the height of faith-filled confidence and joy.
David may have written this Psalm during the time Saul was trying to kill him. It happened often. Thus the many "How longs". David was constantly on the run and trying to outmaneuver a seasoned and cunning opponent. Saul almost caught him so many times but God intervened just in the nick of time over and over. I see the power of David's faith; he knew how good it is to draw near to God when the stress and awfulness of circumstances and people pressed down on the heart, mind and body . If I bring my cares and griefs to the throne of grace, and leave them there, I can go away like Hannah, and my countenances will be no more (1 Samuel 1:18). God's mercy is the support of my faith. I discover I only have to trust Him, I am comforted. I have no merit on my own, it is only faith in God's mercy that can fill my heart with joy in His salvation; for joy and peace come by believing.
Dear Friend, we, as believers, pour out our prayers, renouncing all hopes but in the mercy of God through the Lord Jesus Christ: sometimes suddenly, at others times gradually, we will find our burdens removed, and our comfort restored. God is the Light in our darkness - "His light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it." John 1:5 Trust in Him.
