Psalm 13
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
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.
If you can ask God any question, what would you ask Him? There are many things going on in the news. The things we read make us worried, make us fearful and make us lose hope in the human race and make us reflect on our own lives.
One of the most common question people ask about God is: “why does God allow suffering if He is good?”
Barna‑style survey reported via Christian Today Australia reveals that in a national survey, the top question people wanted to ask God was “Why He allows pain and suffering in this world?”
Apologetic literature, Lifeway Research lists “If God is good, why is there suffering?” as one of the most frequently asked questions by non‑believers.
According to Issues in Perspective, the #1 most‑Googled question in America about God is “Who created God?”, closely followed by “Why does God allow suffering?”
Even as Christians, this is the question we want to ask God too. Why are there tragedies if God is good? Why is He turning His face away? Why God allows evil if He is holy?
The psalmist also wrestles with this question. He experienced moments when he felt God was so far away from him. That he feels that God has abandoned him. Being abandoned and forsaken is not a good feeling. And sometimes being a human means at times in our lives God seems so far away. We feel we are in a pit with problems and difficulties without the success and blessings from God. We pray but our prayers do not seem to reach God’s ears.
There are 3 parts in this psalm (Complaints to God/Ask God for help/Praise God)
- Lament / Complaint (Verses 1–2)
Have you ever felt that God is so far away? How can He be a personal God when He seems so far?
Have you felt God is not listening to your prayers? You have been praying and praying and it seems that God is not listening. Nothing is happening.
Have you felt God has forgotten about you? At one point or another in our life, we experienced so.
People in Thailand and Cambodia. Majority of them do not know God but so do. They are now living in fear because of the war that is going on in their countries. Surely they cried out to God or any powers they know for relief and for help.
People are living in worry in countries that may be affected by tsunami after the 8.8 earthquake in Russia. Where is God?
The psalmist David expresses that he feels God has abandoned him. He feels God has not even heard his prayers. And he is emotionally stressed and sad because God has seemingly forgotten about him.
“How long, O LORD?” is repeated four times in these 2 verses. He is desperately crying out to God for relief. He is in despair. He must have been waiting and waiting upon God for help but God is not there to rescue him, so he is holding on.
And this is his complaint to God.
Christians have a misconception that we have to use our words carefully and only show our good side to God. But as the psalmist has shown us, we can bring all our emotions to God, even emotions such as:
-frustration
-anger
-sadness
-despair
-hopelessness
-helplessness
-worried
-feeling defeated
We can bring all these to God. God already knows everything. He wants us to be honest with Him and tell Him how we feel, even if He seems so far away.
God loves us. Before we know who He is, He has sent His only Son Jesus to die for us, so that we can be reconciled with Him and be His children. He does not want us to be separated from Him.
There is nothing about us that is shocking to God. Nowadays with social media, we have been wired to put only the good side of us for everyone to see. Sometimes the things we post on social media is not the real us but we just want to tell others how good we are or how we have everything in life in control. We don’t want to appear weak or failing in life. It is easy to pretend to be someone we are not in our social media.
A friend of mine went traveling a couple of weeks ago. She posted really nice photos of her trip. When she came back, we met up, she admitted that the tourist spot is not what it seems. It is easy to look perfect for the camera and hide our insecurities.
But not with God. God knows what we are going through. He sees what we are going through. He wants our honesty as we come before Him. It is a comfort to know we can come to Him just as we are.
David is being transparent with God, asking God not to hide anymore. He has been ruminating, his mind goes on and on and repeat itself, he is wrestling with his mind. And his enemy is triumphant. It is like pouring vinegar over his wound.
I read somewhere that God’s love is like the sun. Like the sun it is always there, sometimes the cloud will hide the sun, but we know the sun is there giving us sunlight. We don’t always see God but He is there.
- Petition / Prayer for Help (Verses 3–4)
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.
David prays that God will respond and intervene in his situation. He requests for God to “Look,” “Answer,” and “Give light to my eyes.”
David asks God to enlighten his eyes, it can be asking God to give him understanding. It can also mean that David asking God’s presence to be with him through the long journey of night, and through the valley of fear and tears.
He loves God. He knows God is almighty. That is why to him, it does not make sense if enemies do not see God’s great power. How ridiculous it is when enemies have victory over the Almighty and everlasting God.
I have chronic dizziness. I have a lot of friends who do not yet know God. I am the first pastor they know. I pray to God, You are powerful, You are everlasting, You are God the healer and why won’t You heal me so that those who do not know you will know You are a Great God?
- Trust and Praise (Verses 5–6)
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.
Despite feeling that God is so far away and having enemies around him, feeling despaired, the psalmist still trusts in God. He does not understand the circumstances around him, yet he know for sure that God’s love is unfailing. Despite being surrounded and defeated by the enemies, he knows for sure and without fail, that God will come to rescue him. He knows that God will save him from the enemies.
Why? Because he trusts in God. He is a friend of God. How do we be friends of God? By spending time with Him. That is how we get to know someone, by spending time with that person. David spends time with God, in prayers in worshipping God, in being genuine before God, no pretense.
That is why we see his shift: from hopelessness to hope. From despair to confidence.
Yes, terrible things are happening to him. Yes, he faces dangers and enemies are around him but he will still sing the Lord’s praise. He can still say God is good because he counts his blessings. May be sometimes we think God has to answer us in a certain way. But if we count our blessings, we know He is always here with us.
Praise is very important. When we sing praises to God, it will shift our focus from our human perspective and limitation to God’s eternal perspective and His infinite wisdom.
“6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.”
Do you praise God even when it is hard?
No one live a smooth sailing life. Even men and women of God who love God are not exempted from the challenges of this world. Even men and women of God also experienced sickness, discouragement and depression. What did God say to them? “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” — 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
It is when we are weak, then we lean upon His power, His grace and mercy. When we are weak, we are strong through Jesus Christ.
In 2003, there is a 13-year-old rising surf star in Hawaii. Her name is Bethany Hamilton. She is a Christian. One morning, she went out for a surf with friends. It was just another beautiful day—until a 14-foot tiger shark attacked her, biting off her entire left arm.
Her life was forever changed.
Many people thought that her surfing career was over. If that happened to you, would you be angry at God? Imagine the fear, the pain, and the question: “God, why would You let this happen? I was using my talent for You!”
But Bethany had strong faith in God. She didn’t let this accident shake her faith and believe in God. She didn’t leave her Christian faith because of this accident. She didn’t forsake God when she lost her arm. With God’s strength, she returned to surfing just one month later, learning to surf with one arm. Imaging being so skillful at something but suddenly you have to relearn everything from scratch. It was not easy.
Despite having to relearn surfing with one hand, she did not give up. She went on to win national titles and became an inspiration to millions—not just because she surfed again, but because of how boldly she trusted God through it all.
She once said: “I don’t need easy. I just need possible—with God.”
Today, she shared her testimony and speak about Jesus and resilience. She showed the world that hope is stronger than fear, and faith is bigger than tragedy.
Some of us might not have lost a limb, but we’ve lost dreams, opportunities, or people we love. Life’s waves hit us hard. Bethany’s story reminds us: God doesn’t promise a life free of pain—but He does promise to walk with us through it. And when we trust Him, even the most broken part of our story can become the most powerful testimony.
Psalm 23:4 is a promise we can hold onto during tough moments: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
Whatever your circumstances in life are, trust in God. You may not see hope. You may not see light, but He is with you. Hope will come because He is the God who gives hope. Light will come because He is the light of the world.
Conclusion:
We don’t live in a perfect world. Some things never make sense on this side. But this is when we have to fully trust in God. Trust that He knows and His ways are almighty and perfect. Trust that He cares for us.
We don’t have to know all the answers. Sometimes, it is not for us to know. God is our Creator. He does not owe us any explanations. He does not have to tell us what. What we are to do is to trust in Him.
From lament, to praise, we praise God because of Who God is. He is merciful and great. He is faithful and He loves us.