How long, O LORD? Wilt thou forget me for ever?
How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him";
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
But I have trusted in thy steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm 13 (RSV)
For some time, I have resonated with this psalm. COVID without end, new cases increasing by the hour, to mask or not, should we gather for worship, hospitals, and nursing homes mostly off-limits, and the virus keeps going.
We had hoped by now our lives would be closer to normal, and they aren't. The pandemic has invaded our conversations, family gatherings; perhaps even our dreams are tainted with the anxiety of the latest variant.
I read a comment about Jesus' healing a leper, asking why God hasn't done something about COVID. How does one answer that question when we have begun to wonder if the LORD has indeed forgotten us?
It is good to remember that this psalm is over three thousand years old. Generation upon generation has asked this question, crying out for an answer that has not come. It is good to remember that we are not forgotten. Yes, disease stalks us, as does death, but they are not God.
We may suffer, we will suffer, for creation groans under the weight of sin. Our hearts and souls may be tried beyond breaking so that all we can see is the darkness, the meaninglessness of human existence without God.
The valley of the shadow is a dark place, a terrible place if we believe we are abandoned to journey it alone. It is in this land of deep darkness His voice is still heard. He gives Himself to us so we might cling to Him in hope when there seems to be none.
Yes, we are weary, and there may be more weariness to come. We may be tempted to think God forgets us. We may be tempted to think so, but He continues to pour out His mercy and grace upon us. He loves us in the dark places, has borne the darkness of sin and death so we might come into the uncreated light of the divine life.
Thanks be to God that when my heart grows faint, He does not abandon., He does not forget.