Slices
Prepare
Remember a time when God felt absent. What did you do?
Bible passage
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me for ever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, ‘I have overcome him,’
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Explore
We do not know what David was facing when writing this psalm. We do know that when life is hard, we may feel that God has forgotten us. The rawness of David’s emotions in this psalm encourages us. It gives us permission to express the same questions and feelings as David.
In verses 1 and 2 David cries out to God in desperation. He feels that God has forgotten him (v 1), is hiding from him (v 1) and is allowing David’s enemies to triumph over him (v 2). Count how many times David asks, ‘How long?’ He is longing for God to rescue him. When you are waiting for God to hear you, how do you cope?
David now asks the Lord to bring him out of darkness into light so that he does not die (v 3). Next he asks God to rescue him because he does not want his enemies gloating that the Lord failed him (v 4).
David’s mood in verses 5 and 6 changes completely. We don’t know whether something dramatic has happened to cause this. It may be that David is encouraging himself by affirming his trust in the Lord that the day will come when he once more rejoices and sings God’s praises.
Respond
Look back over this psalm. Think about how it might help you to pray when you are having a hard time. You might also pray this psalm for someone you know who is having a hard time.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ezekiel 34,35; 2 Peter 2
Pray for Scripture Union
SU Indonesia will be hosting the International Student Camp in Bogor in December. Pray that the participants from East and West Asia may be inspired to love God more and have solid foundations.
