But...?

'I need God, but He's nowhere to be found'   Read Psalm 13

In this Psalm, David appears to be in despair and slipping into depression. Consider if you will, the situation for a moment. He had been anointed King of Israel by Samuel after King Saul had shown that he wasn't worthy to hold the title. However, up to now, he was still plain David and Saul was still on the throne. This hadn't worried David at all and he had set out to be a faithful servant of Saul and honour him whenever he could. However, Saul was jealous of David because of the attention he now received after slaying Goliath and he was trying to kill David. Therefore, David had fled for his life and even took up residence in caves to avoid Saul's army. And yet, he still was totally for Saul. This was a characteristic that God loved about him.

The problem is, after being treated badly and being hunted all over the place by the evil King Saul, David had understandably become quite low. If you'll read the 6 verses in this Psalm you will see this for yourself. Four times he asked God, 'How long:'

How long - will You forget me forever?  Reminding God that it had been some time since God had
                   answered him.
How long - will You hide Your face from me?  David felt abandoned.
How long - shall I take counsel in my soul?  Relying on your own thoughts in times such as these
                   can be rather risky, because of the depression.
How long - will my enemy be exalted over me?  There appeared to be no relief in sight for David.

Then at the end of the Psalm, David decides to praise God anyway. He says in verse 5:

'But 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.'

This little word, 'But', is very powerful. It can be negative or positive. In a counselling setting, I have often heard the negative, ' Yes that sounds good, 'but', I could never do that.' 'Yes, 'but' it's too late for that.' etc.David however, used the positive version 'But' here, and decided that he would put his trust in God's mercy and not focus on the problems he had.

What about you? Do you think God is not around at the moment? How will you handle this? What will you choose to say? Will you use the negative 'But' or the positive one. The choice you make will determine the way you move forward or backwards. It really is a small word but has a very large meaning. Changing the way you use this word is changing the way you think - renewing your mind and will determine the outcome.
'But', that is up to you.


If you would like to give me feedback email.  dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com