Part 1 | The Love of God
Part 2 | Warrior
Part 3 | Nicodemus
Part 4 | The City
Part 5 | Walk with Me
Last post, we reflected on how sometimes in the hardship and pain of walking with the God who suffers with us and for us, it’s going to feel like all we are doing is talking to walls, whether with the people we meet or the God we are praying to. When this happens, God shows us that we need to cry out (6) “How Long?!”
How long, O Lord, will You hide Your face? / How long must i labor in vain? / How long, O Lord,will You wait to rescue me? / How long, O Lord, how long? / Seems the devil is winning every battle. / His arrows, they pierce me and my eyes grow dim. / If You tarry much longer You will miss my last breath / And my foes will triumph in my decay.
In eight different psalms, God composes – through people who humbly followed Him – language for us to cry out to Him with when we feel He is no longer there or is no longer seemingly true to His Word.
Notice that there are multiple authors who are able to honestly and openly question God like this. King David, Israel's greatest king and the man after God's own heart, asked, "How long, LORD?" Moses, the greatest prophet in the Old Testament, also voiced the cry of "How long?" to God. Not only these great leaders, but also a choir director and a song writer in Asaph and Ephan were able to rightly bring this question to the ears of God. And they, along with an anonymous writer, invite us to do the same, reminding us all their cries of "How long, LORD?" end in words like these:
Despite all the suffering and anguish, all of these psalms end with hope that God is the One and only One who can make things right. And when we cry out to Him honestly as we are suffering and persevering, His greatest desire is to give us hope.
Thank God He has given us these words from the psalms to sing and cry and pray to Him when He is leading us through hard times. He wants us to know He is always near. He desires to grow our faith in Him in such a way that we can rejoice and be content in all circumstances, not just the expected or comfortable ones. He wants us to find everlasting peace and comfort in Him. That's why He gave us His Spirit. That's why Jesus died for us, so that in plunging into the death of our despair and sin, He could resurrect us and our hope with Him into new heights.
We need to learn to teach each others how to pray like this during such times. And for the moment when we have plunged into the depth of our helplessness and feel we can go no deeper or we'll truly die, check back tomorrow to see how He will remind us that He plunged deeper still with Part 7 | Anchor.
– Sully
As always, if your curiosity is piqued, or something inside you is being stirred, feel free to connect.
Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. I am sick at heart. How long, O Lord, until You restore me? Return, O Lord, and rescue me. Save me because of Your unfailing love. – David (Psalm 6:2-4)
O Lord, how long will You forget me? Forever? How long will You look the other way? 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? Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. – David (Psalm 13:1-3)
We are mocked by our neighbors, an object of scorn and derision to those around us. O Lord, how long will You be angry with us? Forever? How long will Your jealousy burn like fire? – Asaph (Psalm 79:4-5)
Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved. O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, how long will You be angry with our prayers? – Asaph (Psalm 80:3-4)
O Lord, how long will this go on? Will You hide yourself forever? How long will Your anger burn like fire? Remember how short my life is, how empty and futile this human existence! – Ethan (Psalm 89:46-47)
Arise, O judge of the earth. Give the proud what they deserve. How long, O Lord? How long will the wicked be allowed to gloat? How long will they speak with arrogance? How long will these evil people boast? They crush Your people, Lord, hurting those You claim as Your own. – Anonymous (Psalm 94:2-5)
Notice that there are multiple authors who are able to honestly and openly question God like this. King David, Israel's greatest king and the man after God's own heart, asked, "How long, LORD?" Moses, the greatest prophet in the Old Testament, also voiced the cry of "How long?" to God. Not only these great leaders, but also a choir director and a song writer in Asaph and Ephan were able to rightly bring this question to the ears of God. And they, along with an anonymous writer, invite us to do the same, reminding us all their cries of "How long, LORD?" end in words like these:
The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer. May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified. May they suddenly turn back in shame. – David (Psalm 6:9-10)
But I trust in Your unfailing love. I will rejoice because You have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because He is good to me. – David (Psalm 13:5-6)
But give great joy to those who came to my defense. Let them continually say, “Great is the Lord, who delights in blessing His servant with peace!” Then I will proclaim Your justice, and I will praise You all day long. – David (Psalm 35:27-28)
O Lord, pay back our neighbors seven times for the scorn they have hurled at You. Then we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will thank You forever and ever, praising Your greatness from generation to generation. – Asaph (Psalm 79:12-13)
Turn us again to Yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. Make Your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved. – Asaph (Psalm 80:19)
Praise the Lord forever! Amen and amen! – Ethan (Psalm 89:52)
Let us, Your servants, see You work again; let our children see Your glory. And may the Lord our God show us His approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful! – Moses (Psalm 90:16-17)
But the Lord is my fortress; my God is the mighty rock where I hide. God will turn the sins of evil people back on them. He will destroy them for their sins. The Lord our God will destroy them. – Anonymous (Psalm 94:22-23)
Despite all the suffering and anguish, all of these psalms end with hope that God is the One and only One who can make things right. And when we cry out to Him honestly as we are suffering and persevering, His greatest desire is to give us hope.
We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. – Paul (Romans 5:3-6)
Thank God He has given us these words from the psalms to sing and cry and pray to Him when He is leading us through hard times. He wants us to know He is always near. He desires to grow our faith in Him in such a way that we can rejoice and be content in all circumstances, not just the expected or comfortable ones. He wants us to find everlasting peace and comfort in Him. That's why He gave us His Spirit. That's why Jesus died for us, so that in plunging into the death of our despair and sin, He could resurrect us and our hope with Him into new heights.
We need to learn to teach each others how to pray like this during such times. And for the moment when we have plunged into the depth of our helplessness and feel we can go no deeper or we'll truly die, check back tomorrow to see how He will remind us that He plunged deeper still with Part 7 | Anchor.
– Sully
As always, if your curiosity is piqued, or something inside you is being stirred, feel free to connect.
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