Psalm 13:1-6 ESV - 1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 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? 3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, 4 lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him," lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. 5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.
How long? A common question. A painful question. How long will my spasms be unrelenting? How long will my loved one battle cancer? How long will my friend be without a job? How long will my friend be in a difficult marriage? How long will the prodigal child stay “out of country”? We are finite and we do not know what tomorrow holds, and so we ask . . .how long?
What a gift of mercy that God hears the question and the sorrow and the anxiety and the struggle with covetousness and bitterness. And God has an answer . . .
Trust in God’s steadfast love. Trust in God’s salvation. Remind ourselves of God’s provision in the past. Remind ourselves of God’s Word, that is always true. Read the upper room discourse (John 13-17) and really listen to Jesus —
John 16:1, 4, 33 ESV – 1 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. … 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. … 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Trust God and obey His word, even when feelings say there’s no point anyway . . . . .remember that feelings lie . . . .
Trial, tribulation, difficulty, disappointment, obstacles come to everyone on this earth. I am not “being picked on” and others are not “getting off scot free” . . .. remember that feelings lie . . .
God’s Word is true. I am a sinner. The penalty for sin is death. I could not pay that penalty. Jesus, second person of the Trinity, came and died on the cross for my sin. He paid the penalty I could not pay. He rose from the dead and defeated death. The Holy Spirit opens my heart to believe. I submit my life, my will, to God as my Savior, my Lord, my King.
I don’t have to know all of the “why” or even the “how long” — my eternal life is settled and secure with God and this temporal life is not forever. God will fulfill His purpose. He will display His glory. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.
Pray for the Persecuted Church — OpenDoorsUSA
Day 3: Pray for tolerance of faiths other than Islam in
Moroccan society, with freedom to gather
Daily Wisdom Psalm 13, 43, 73, 103, 133 Proverbs 13
Plea for Grace 
Praising Him that I don’t need all the answers. All I need to know is that He loves me and has a plan for my life. He loves my family and had a plan for each one of their lives. AND IT’S A GOOD PLAN!!!!!!