by Robert Fudge

Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. 3 I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. 4 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal. 5 You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you.

Did you ever have a bad day? I mean, did you ever have a really bad day? David had his bad days, weeks, months and even bad years. Does it seem that there are times in your life that you are up to your neck and still sinking? Perhaps, even like David, you have called for God’s help until your throat is parched and still you hear no answer. One thing that David knew by his experience with God is that we should never give up. When we don’t hear God there is a reason. We may not be listening. He may be giving us time to consider and prove our faith. He may be teaching us a lesson in patience. Or, as is often the case, he may be giving us an answer that takes time for us to hear and see in our lives.

I have often considered Joseph who was sold into slavery around the age of seventeen. Can you imagine how he pleaded with his brothers as they watched him taken away by the men who had just bought him? Can you imagine how he must have pleaded with God in prayer as he was taken on that long trip to Egypt and then sold to a new owner? Then for several years he was up and down but still a slave. He was falsely accused and sent to prison. There he was forgotten when there seemed to be hope of release. Where was God in all this? Joseph never gave up on God. Later, as the second ruler in command of Egypt, he told his brothers that they had done it with an intention of harm but God had used it to save their families.

The lesson: When we don’t see God in our lives, He sees us. When we don’t hear God, He hears us. When we don’t understand, He understands our plight and he cares. God is working in my life and yours today, whether we see it or not. Don’t give up on God because he has not given up on you.

O God, ruler of all the earth, please hear my prayer today. Forgive my impatience. Forgive my doubt. Forgive my weakness. Help me to open my eyes and my ears and to see and hear you in my life. Give me wisdom so that I can see your way more clearly. Give me your peace. In Jesus name.

May God bless each of us as we trust him and live for him.