How long will you forget me, Lord? for ever? how long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? — Hide not your face far from me; put not your servant away in anger: thou have been my helper; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. — The Lord is near all those who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. — Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. — Truly my soul waits upon God: from him comes my salvation. — O my soul, wait only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
Confusion about God's presence, His help, His intentions is common. After all, He's invisible. If you're like me, you sometimes feel it intensely. Sometimes you feel forgotten, and that God has literally hidden His face from you, even denied your existence. That is NOT true. We beg Him not to forsake us, and He has said, "I will never leave you, or forsake you." In so many instances, we are like the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24)--our eyes are "held," and we know Him not. We don't feel or recognize His presence, but He IS right here with us, all the time. We FEEL lost, cast down, miserable, deserted, without hope and help, but right in these passages we read, "The Lord is near all those who call upon Him..." He is NOT far away. He WILL answer. He IS with you. He is your refuge and strength. Go to Him, even if you don't feel His presence. Cry out to Him. Tell Him your troubles, how you feel--how you feel about Him (follow the directions of the Psalms, and be polite, of course). He understands. He went through it all in the person of His Son. That is one reason, by the way, that He sent Jesus Christ into the world, so He could be you, feel what you've felt, enjoy the things you enjoy, bear the same temptations, walk in the same paths, suffer the same betrayals, experience the things you do, even to the point of death. He not only is with you. He knows how you feel, how you are, what is going right AND wrong in your life. Everything, with only one thing missing. Jesus had no experience of sin until the day of His death, and then only of its punishment. He has not forgotten you, and He will never forsake you.
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