As Christmas day gets closer you would think that people would be happier, but I am finding that is not the case. I work in a Christian environment, the products we sell are mostly Christian based, yet some of the customer's behavior is anything but Christian. I'm sure they have a story, so I try not to be too judgmental, but sometimes it is hard, especially when they make someone cry. Today I prayed that I would be able to help those that have lost the Christmas Spirit find it again. I asked the Spirit to be with me and guide me as to the words and actions I will need today. I hope that every customer I come in contact with will leave in a happy mood and have a better day.
Psalm 13
Whenever you read David's psalms it seems that you can find yourself in them. Whatever the predicament, both the highs and the lows, David has been above our highs and lower than our lows. In this psalm we find David asking a question that every child of God has asked at one time or another, How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? Every Christian has felt neglected by God - or at least felt that they have waited a long time for God to do what needs to be done.
The pain in David’s heart comes from a sense that God has forgotten him and that God has distanced Himself from David. No doubt, David had faced worse circumstances, but he had faced them more bravely because he sensed the presence of God with him. Now that he is feeling distant from God, he is sent into despair. Of course, God did not forget David. God did not hide His face from David - but David felt like it.
Sometimes we have such strong feelings that the feelings create their own reality. David felt God had forgotten him, and felt God was hiding. So, in a sense, it was true for David – but true according to his feelings, not according to fact.
I have experienced this in my own life. I have let my emotions skew my perspective. I have thought the same thing that David did, Lord, how long will you forget me?! It is a hard place to be and a hard place to dig yourself out of. I have had to learn that when I'm discouraged and depressed, the answer is not looking inside myself, but in looking to the Lord.
Fortunately, David had the wisdom to know that though he felt powerful feelings, he wasn’t seeing reality. His vision was clouded and dark, so he cried out to God, “Enlighten my eyes.”
The apostle Paul gave us a great definition of what it means to have our eyes enlightened by the Lord in Ephesians 1:17-19: "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power"
I have found that the more I think about my problems, the more depressed I get. But when I pray about the problems, and ask God to let me see the big picture, there is a sense of release and peace that comes. Like David, I am still in the realm of feelings, but I am directing them instead of having them direct me.
I think the last two verses of this Psalm are my favorite: "But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me."
David went from being overwhelmed by his feelings and believing that God had forgotten him, to seeing that God had dealt bountifully with him. What a transition! What a change in perspective!
This is what happens when we ask the Lord to enlighten our eyes. We come to a place where we trust the Lord and rejoice because we know that He loves us. We need the light of God to shine upon us and to give us His wisdom and knowledge. With enlightened eyes, David sees God's goodness. He sees that he has good reason to rejoice and sing because God has been good to him. If we will only think about it, every person on this earth has reason to rejoice, because in some way God has been good to everyone.
What a great message is given in six short verses: God will enlighten our eyes and bring us from a place of despair to a place of trust, joy, and confidence! We have an awesome God!
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