Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death. (Psalm 13:3)
After questioning God four different times about “How long?” David petitions the LORD for three things in an attempt to assuage his loneliness and what he perceives to be an estrangement from God . He asks the Lord to consider, hear (respond) and enlighten.
The initial request is that God would simply look upon him and consider him in his plight. Just knowing that God is paying attention to what is going on in our life — whether we feel He is acting or not — can bring hope and confidence. Of course, there comes a time when we feel we are being overwhelmed by the situation that we become desperate for Him to respond to our petitions. When David said, “Hear me, O Lord,” he was pleading with God to respond — please speak to me.
David had previously asked, “How long shall I take counsel in my soul?” which is to say, how long must he try to rescue himself from his situation — an unlikely if not impossible prospect. In other words, David desperately wanted God to respond to his problem with at least an acknowledgement of the situation if not a solution to the problem. I know that, for me, not hearing from God on a matter is sometimes more bothersome than the problem itself. The fear that God is not responding to my cries has the potential to amplify the problem and the darkness I find myself in. That is when I need God to open my eyes to see His purpose and His plan. David expressed it this way: “Enlighten my eyes.”
When we are in the darkness of gloom and despair, it is almost impossible to see the way out of our situation; we need God to shine a light on the path that leads us out of our circumstances. If we believe that God orchestrates our life, or at least allows things to touch our lives, we must conclude that all things, in the end, will be for the good — that is if we cling to His Word and remain faithful to endure. In other words, just because we have yet to see the path that leads to victory doesn’t mean it isn’t there. We need Him to shine a light upon it so that we may see the way He has set before us. And so on that note, we will close with these thoughts from other psalms: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.(Psalm 119:105), and as David said: “The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Psalm 19:8).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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