Lord! Why Do You Permit Such Evil?Sýnishorn

David Reminds Himself of God’s Character

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1)

“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” (Psalm 13:5)

These two verses seem completely opposite, written by different persons in different circumstances. These two people would not even understand each other, since their experiences are so wide apart. One is crying out because the Lord seems to forget him. His situation is really serious, even life threatening, as he exclaims: “Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death” (Psalm 13:3).

The other person is trusting in God’s love and rejoicing in His salvation. His life must be all happiness, right?

No. It’s not. These two perspectives are both written by David, in exactly the same situation. He is being pursued by enemies and needs God’s help. The only thing that has changed in between his cry for help and his expression of trust, is that David shifted his attention from his hopeless circumstances to God’s character. Since he knows that the Lord is good and His love is steadfast, David can rejoice in God’s salvation even when it is not yet visible. That’s an expression of true faith, “the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

Do you have a strong, joyful faith, like David did?