For 9 long years, Saul hounded
David as “one hunts a partridge in the mountains” (1 Sam. 26:20). “How long, O
Lord? Will You forget me forever?” David prayed. “How long will You hide Your
face from me? . . . How long will my enemy be exalted over me?” (Ps. 13:1-2).
Prolonged affliction often vexes
us as well. We want a sudden solution, a quick fix. But some things can’t be
fixed. They can only be borne.
But we can complain to God in our
troubles. We have a heavenly Father who wants us to engage with Him in our struggles.
He understands His children as no one else can.
When we turn to Him with our
complaints, we come to our senses. In David’s case, his thoughts went back to
life’s certainty: God’s love. David reminded himself: “I have trusted in Your
mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord,
because He has dealt bountifully with me” (vv.5-6). Sufferings may persist, but
David could sing in the midst of his trials, for he was God’s beloved child.
That’s all he needed to know.
A. W. Thorold writes, “The
highest pinnacle of the spiritual life is not happy joy in unbroken sunshine,
but absolute and undoubting trust in the love of God.”
Even in our troubles, God’s love
can be trusted.
God’s love stands when all else fails. (RBC)
