14 April 2020
How long until things get back to normal?
How long until we can start meeting on Sundays again?
How long do I have to keep on home-schooling?
How long until I can travel to visit loved ones?
How long until the scientists come up with a vaccine?
Have you heard, or even asked, any of these questions lately? I know I have! Or perhaps your ‘how long?’ questions are not related to the current pandemic but relate to a long-standing difficult circumstance or prayers that have long gone unanswered.
We live in a world that demands instant responses and actions, we have grown unaccustomed to waiting – I remember as a teenager posting off letters to penfriends across Europe knowing I would not get a response for probably a month or two – now if I don’t get a response to my WhatsApp in an hour I can feel myself getting aggrieved!
But are these questions we as believers should be asking? Do they somehow imply a lack of faith or too little trust in God, in his sovereign plan and his perfect timing?
I’ve been encouraged as I’ve asked my own ‘how long?’ questions to see how often the psalmists ask the same question; no less than ten psalms ask God ‘how long?’.
Let’s have a look at psalm 13 together:
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.
We are not sure of the exact circumstances which prompted David to write this psalm, but we can see that a prolonged period of suffering caused him to ask God not once, but four times ‘how long?’ He feels abandoned by God, who seems not to be acting in his circumstances, his anxious thoughts are spiralling into despair, and he feels as though those who are against him are triumphing.
We might baulk at saying we feel abandoned or forgotten by God, but don’t our fears and anxieties demonstrate a lack of trust in his sovereign control? As we feel helpless and despairing clicking through endless news feeds of depressing statistics and tragic stories, aren’t we saying, ‘where are you God?’ Doesn’t it feel as though our enemy, the Coronavirus, is triumphing?
After bringing his questions to God, the psalmist’s tone changes with that one little word ‘But’ in verse 5. He might feel as though God is absent and he can’t carry on any longer BUT he knows that God’s love is steadfast, he remembers God’s goodness to him and reaffirms his trust in Him. This brings him to a place of joyful praise; he still doesn’t know the answer to his questions, but he knows the God who does.
Valid and useful though feelings might be they cannot always be relied upon. We cannot ignore our feelings and yet we mustn’t be ruled by them either. Do our feelings reflect the truth or does the truth contradict our feelings? Where is our ‘BUT’?
We know God never leaves nor forsakes us (Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5-6)
We know He holds all things together (Colossians 1:17)
We know He has already triumphed over his enemies and over death itself (Romans 6:8-9, John 19:30)
When we bring our questions and honest feelings to the Lord in prayer our confidence in his unfailing love is renewed, we remember all he has already done for us in Christ (all we really need) and can turn our ‘how longs?’ into joyful praise.
As I have asked my own ‘how long?’ questions I have seen how God can work in amazing ways even while those questions go unanswered. As we wait for answers to our ‘how long?’ cries, let’s make the most of this strange time:
Use the lack of ‘normal’ to give you a renewed appreciation for all God has given you.
Allow not meeting together to give you an increased desire to make meeting together a priority.
Set aside the frustrations of home-schooling to appreciate and enjoy the gift of extended family time.
Use the extra time at home to draw near to God, to spend time in His Word and to pray for the loved ones you cannot visit and those in the forefront of the battle against the Coronavirus.
Remind each other of God’s past faithfulness and help each other see the truths that contradict our feelings.
Rejoice in your salvation and praise God for his goodness to you.
You can listen to Psalm 13 in song here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tppp1cD90PE
Janette McCool
