Skip to main content

Feeling and thinking in Psalm 13: One wound that never fully heals?

  Feeling and thinking in Psalm 13: One wound that never fully heals

PSALMS 13

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?

How long will you look the other way?

2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,

with sorrow in my heart every day?

How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!

Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.

4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”

Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love.

I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

6 I will sing to the Lord

because he is good to me.


According to the saying, “Time heals all wounds.” It has been more than 50 years since some wounds. Healing is not the same as restoration. 


I had ankle surgery a few years ago. And more than 30 years before that I had two pretty major heel surgeries. I’m very pleased with the results. I can walk without pain. But I still can’t run. 


4 June 1987 my brother, Dan Bode, died. He never met my four children or my 9 grandchildren. 36 years, 7 months and 24 days ago should be ample time for healing. But this side of eternity I still have no siblings. 


Sorrow, anguish, feeling all alone--I’ve known these feelings. We can’t really talk about all our wounds. But we can talk about unfailing love.


I may not be healed up from all the bumps of life, but I have so much love. I am a very loved person. God loves me very much. My parents love me. My wife loves me. I have children and grandchildren who love me. And I have friends and Christian family that have poured love all over me. Over and over and over and over I have been loved, am still loved and know I will be loved.


And yet.


I want those who have left the faith to come back. I want those humans who have hurt me to be more than healed. I want them to be restored.


For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12 NLT


I have an enemy. The enemy isn’t a human. And I don’t want that enemy to win. Not in my heart and mind, not in my marriage, not in my family, not in my church. Nowhere, never, not at all.


So I pray. Psalm 13 is a prayer. It starts with the feeling of abandonment and ends with the feelings of closeness and goodness. I figure this is the path I will walk everyday until I see Jesus in heaven.



Artist Caravaggio

Year 1602

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions 107 cm × 146 cm (42 in × 57 in)

Location Sanssouci, Potsdam
Labels:
Location: Flemish Brabant, Belgium

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The dangers of being vulnerable: Psalm 7

  The dangers of being vulnerable: Psalm 7 Psalm 7 A psalm of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush of the tribe of Benjamin. 1 I come to you for protection, O Lord my God.     Save me from my persecutors—rescue me! 2 If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,     tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me. 3 O Lord my God, if I have done wrong     or am guilty of injustice, 4 if I have betrayed a friend     or plundered my enemy without cause, 5 then let my enemies capture me.     Let them trample me into the ground     and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude 6 Arise, O Lord, in anger!     Stand up against the fury of my enemies!     Wake up, my God, and bring justice! 7 Gather the nations before you.     Rule over them from on high. 8     The Lord judges the nations. Declare m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Feeling and thinking in Psalm 20: Feelings flowing outward

Feeling and thinking in Psalm 20: Feelings flowing outward "For the choir director: A psalm of David.  In times of trouble,  may the LORD answer your cry.  May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm." " May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem." " May he remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings. Interlude" " May he grant your heart's desires and make all your plans succeed." " May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.  May the LORD answer all your prayers." "Now I know that the LORD rescues his anointed king. He will answer him from his holy heaven and rescue him by his great power." "Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God." "Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm." ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Feeling and thinking in Psalms 18 and 19: A tale of two revivals

  Feeling and thinking in Psalms 18 and 19: A tale of two revivals Prayer is often the topic of the Psalms. There is hardly a Psalm that is not a prayer or a praise or a cry to God. Whether it is a jubilant exultation of victory and celebration of the wonders of God's creation, power and glory or it is a desperate cry for help, all the Psalms in one way or another are testimonies of relationship with God. God has been talking to me my whole life. There is not a time in my life where I can’t remember God talking to me. I am not saying I was listening, obeying or following my whole life. But I can see, looking back, that God has always been present.  Psalms 18 and 19 are two of the most important Psalms in God’s voice in my head. God used Psalm 19 to speak to me of His power, grandeur, holiness and requirement of obedience. I love walking at night and I love looking at the stars. It is no surprise to me that my own father’s testimony begins with a prayer under the stars sitting ...
Post a Comment
Read more