God Is Not in a Hurry and He Isn’t Going Anywhere

“How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” (Ps 13:1)

Have you ever asked a question like this of God? Ever felt like God was absent or distant. We know He is omnipresent (Ps 139:7-10), but sometimes it seems like He isn’t.

David asks this question as a mixture of complaint, petition and misery. David’s patience can no longer hold out. He had experienced trials and difficulties as long as he could and he sees no end to these troubles; so, he asks “how long.”

We don’t like to wait which is why we ask the question “how long.” We like quick fixes, don’t we?. We don’t like to be patient and wait upon God to work out His plan on His timing. God doesn’t do things as quickly as we like.

When trouble comes, we want it over sooner rather than later. When a trial comes, what is our reaction? We ask, “When will this trial be over?” We ask, “How much longer till we get there?”

I bet you can relate to the following story about the commentator and New England preacher Philip Brooks. Normally, he was a calm man. But one day he was clearly agitated. He paced the floor like a caged lion. A friend asked him, “What’s the trouble?”

Brooks replied, “The trouble is, I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t.” That is so true.

We forget that having the feeling of being left alone is not bad; it actually is good and purposeful and God-designed. Why? Because it is then that we learn to trust God and not our own resources. That is what Jonah learned in the belly of the great fish and that is what David will learn by vs. 6.

David asks the question, “Will you forget me forever.” It would almost appear, according to David, that God had forgotten him. The mercies of God were foreign and far away to David and he saw no prospect of deliverance.

He then asks, “How long will You hide Your face from me.” In the O.T., God’s “face” was representative of his blessing. Remember the priestly blessing in Numbers  6:24-26 – “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” His face was a symbol of blessing. David looks around him and isn’t experiencing God’s face in any real way…he thinks.

Is God in a hurry? No! Has God ever left us or forsaken us? No. He doesn’t move from us; we move from Him.