The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon

“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long am I to feel anxious in my soul, with grief in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?”

—Psalm 13:1–2

This psalm is a comfort to us . . . a reminder that everyone feels forgotten sometimes. The key there is “feels.” Sometimes it feels like God is distant and like all we can do is try to figure things out for ourselves. Sometimes it feels like no good deed goes unpunished.

But it isn’t true. David knew it too. His psalm ends with this, “But I have trusted in your faithfulness; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has looked after me” (Psalm 13:5–6).

He didn’t feel like the Lord was looking after him at that moment; nevertheless, he says that the Lord has already looked after him. He knew that whatever his current circumstance, God had already intervened for him and would be with him in the end.

Even when David’s feelings told him he was alone and forgotten by God, he chose to continue in faith, trusting in God’s ultimate purpose, love, and salvation. 

When we feel like God is distant, it’s all right to talk about it, to pray about it, and to ask him about it. But if our faith is real, it must go on believing and trusting that God is faithful even when there is every earthly reason to doubt. Faith that falters at the shifting sands of this world is not built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ, and we build that kind of faith by doing what he says (Luke 6:46–49). 

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