Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Psalm 13: Alone with Faith

To believe, but not possess is to struggle. Thus, life is a struggle.

"How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?"

This doesn't mean life is miserable, just incomplete. Even the best times are not best, only a taste of what should and will be. Even laughter is a foretaste of a better joy to come. To not possess fully what is promised is to feel, at times, abandoned, alone with nothing but the promise. To have hope, but not what is hoped for is to know sorrow. 

Yet, it is a hope possessed that drives us to our Hope!

"Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,"

To want Him and all He promises, and to feel if you don't have Him you will die is life this side of hope. To struggle with faith and press deep into Him is life in a cursed and dying world. 

Yes, to hope in Him in the face of all things evil is to know that you will one day possess what is promised and be glad. 

"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."