Hope for Days of DepressionÀpẹrẹ

Anguish of Abandonment

How long, O Lord? 

Will you forget me forever? 

How long will you hide your face from me?

Psalm 13:1

David’s cry reveals the deep anguish of the feeling of abandonment. He is in deep distress and feels forsaken by his God! He wonders out loud how long his trials must continue? He communicates that his present circumstances are unbearable. He is at a breaking point unable to endure it any longer. Yet it seems that God is nowhere in sight. David’s prayers of salvation have all been unanswered. God had seemingly forgotten his beloved child and has hidden his face! Thus, David complains indignantly, “Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” 

Christians seldom pray these words today, ashamed that it betrays a lack of confidence in God. However, it is entirely part of the normal human experience to not feel the presence of God at certain times of duress! The prophet Isaiah understood this and confessed, “Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour” (Isaiah 45:15, KJV). God hides himself from even his covenant children at times for he is the sovereign God. This should not surprise us for God is always beyond the reach of man. It is a miracle that we should ever feel his presence by our side! This is why Blaise Pascal wrote, “A religion which does not affirm that God is hidden is not true.” This Deus absconditus (divine absence) reveals God’s sovereignty to be God beyond human senses and circumstances. 

God’s hiddenness should never be understood as His apathy towards His children! God’s children may only ever feel abandonment but will never be abandoned by God. Jesus’ derelict cry of forsakenness from the cross (Matthew 27:46) reminds us that God once did abandon His one and only beloved to death! Yet because Christ was forsaken and abandoned to suffer and die for sinners, we may be assured that God will never leave nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). God has promised His ever-abiding presence to those who trust Him. This is the paradox of Christian life. Though God is ever by our side, we can still feel abandoned since God may be hidden. However, even in such moments when God’s presence is elusive, we may cry out to Him our lament for He is never too far to hear us! True faith is not to suffer silently in the darkness but rather to seek God even in the darkness of our sufferings!