Psalm 13

Psalm 13:1-6

This Psalm has three parts to it, each two verses long. In the first two verses, David is expressing his anxiety and fear, the third and fourth verses show David's prayer for an answer, and the final two verses display David's faith. The first and third part are what really stuck out to me. When looking at the first part it is solely David questioning God and he uses the phrase How long to start five of the six questions. How long is a phrase used by children when asking their parents how long a trip is going to be, or how long until they can leave the dinner table, or how long until something is over. Children want a timeframe, they want a concrete answer, and they want to know the answer immediately. David is clearly going through some type of suffering in his life, and while it is unclear what it is, he wants to have a timeframe for when it will be over. I don't blame him. Being able to know when something will be over gives me the sense that I have some type of control over the situation. However, dwelling on these thoughts just results in a "woe is me" attitude.

By verses 5 and 6 however, David's tone changes from one of wanting to know all the answers to trusting God's plan. David trusts in God's unfailing love. By using the word unfailing, he shows that he realizes God has never left him and has always loved him. Then in verse 6 David uses the phrase, "for he has been good to me." Using this phrase gives the sense that David is reflecting on his life and realizes that while he is suffering in the moment, his life has not always been like that. Many times when I am going through a difficult time of life I get bogged down and forget the past, I forget that God has been good to me. It's easy to be in the moment and only think about how long you will be there for, but that just causes a continued negative outlook because in that small moment of life things are difficult. I know that in those instances, I need to remember that this is just a minute of my life, and while I may want to know how long it will last, I should reflect instead on how good God has truly been to me.