Joel Littlefield

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.

Psalm 13

It is not wrong to ask questions of the Lord as long as we accept that His answers are sufficient and good for us. David asked, “how long oh Lord?” and the context of his trouble is a place that we often find ourselves. The ‘man after God’s own heart’ often wrestled with his emotions in the midst of suffering and pain, with his enemies standing over him, laughing at his shaken spirit. Ever been there?  What is the answer you expect of God? Or better yet, what is the answer He has so graciously supplied for us to cling to in these circumstances? In David’s plea, “Consider and answer me, O LORD my God” we find our answer.  If God is your Lord, as He was David’s, then He is all you need.  Look no further than the Great I AM.  Look to the light and the truth of all that God is, and rest there.  If the light of God in Christ was sufficient to dispel the powers of darkness that once held you captive, and if His power was sufficient to release you from the stronghold of death and to bring you into the Kingdom of His dear Son, then is He not able to aid you now in your time of trouble? I say He is! Finally, consider David’s determination to praise in the midst of pain, to rejoice in the God of his salvation. You must pray that the light of God’s sufficient grace will light up your eyes and cause you to lift your head toward Heaven.  He has surely dealt bountifully with us all.  He has done all that is necessary to secure your place in His arms and is faithful to keep you there until the precious face of the Savior Himself is before your very eyes. So ask of God what you will, ask Him how long, and ask knowing that He is King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s.  When He answers, say as David did; “I will sing to the Lord, for He has dealt bountifully with me.”