Our Reading: Psalm 13 and Colossians 1:13-14
This Psalm finds David in a low place. It’s a place of loneliness and sadness. David realizes that if he stays in this place, this circumstance, this frame of mind, he will not be able to cope with it in his own strength and will power. He asks the question that we may often ask when we just don’t know how much more we can take.
“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Psalm 13:1
But David doesn’t allow himself to be discouraged. Instead, he focuses on a God who loves Him with a steadfast love.
“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” Psalm 13:5-6
What is steadfast love? It is a love that does not change. The word steadfast was first used in battle contexts to describe warriors who stood their ground, which led to its "immovable" sense. David knows that his circumstances may cause him moments of distress when he can’t see God at work but that doesn’t mean God has abandoned him.
Difficult trials and hardships do not signify that God doesn’t care deeply about us. We may not “feel” that love and we may struggle to see a favorable solution but that doesn’t mean God has changed in his love toward us. It doesn’t mean that He is not at work on a grander scale.
It comforts me in such times of hardship and feeling at a loss for what to do, to remember Joseph when he was thrown into prison. Joseph also trusted in God’s steadfast love. And God was certainly at work even as Joseph was isolated in a dark prison.
Genesis 39:21 - "But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison."
We know that eventually Joseph’s imprisonment became the right place for him to be to come to the attention of Pharaoh. Not only would he be be liberated from prison but he would be elevated to a position of honor as Pharaoh’s right hand man.
If David and Joseph could trust in God’s steadfast love, so too, can you and I!
Reflection:
- Do you have times of feeling as if God is not there for you, not answering your prayers, not helping you? If so, what keeps you from losing faith?
- Do you find comfort in the stories of the Bible where God came through and shows himself faithful?
- Do you have your own story of God miraculously working out what seemed difficult and impossible and showing you that He truly cared?
Prayer: Thank you Father for your steadfast love that never, ever wavers or changes! Even when we fail You, You do not fail us! Help us to remember that our circumstances do not change Your love for us. You are always in control and always at work! May we find comfort in our darkest times by wrapping Your steadfast love around us like a comforting, warm blanket on a chilly night. Help us to trust and surrender to that unshakeable, unmovable love.