When Enemies Prevail

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“When enemies prevail” by Diane Webb
Psalms 13: 2--“How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?”
The despair demonstrated in Psalms 13 is described by Keil & Delitzsch as “when hope turns to despair and despair turns to hope”. The contradiction is a conflict between the flesh and the spirit. The dejected heart (flesh) feels God has forgotten them. The spirit knows God is working in the situation in some way and understands the despairing part is only temporary. The persecution of David by Saul increased and Saul then has people searching for David by going from place to place. David felt he could only survive by remaining alert and watchful. It began to wear on him. David, after all, was human. As strong as our faith is, there are times we too wonder “why”. We try to be good people, we feel we are doing all the right things, and we still suffer at the hands of enemies. We gaze in disbelief as our enemies prosper and get away with all kinds of deceit. David, through the psalms, mostly demonstrates strong, unwavering faith. He has times of despair yet they do not last long. Deep in his heart he knows without doubt God loves him and has a plan for his life. It does not stop him from thinking, “how long will this persecution go on”. He asks “when will God step in and help me”? Either personally, nationally, or globally, we have all experienced the “why”—why do people have to be hungry, why do the unjust seem to have so much power, why do the ungodly seem to have so much wealth? Sometimes we really can’t understand the overall plan. What we go through does not always seem fair. We, too, like David, may begin to feel abandoned by God. Our heart is telling us one thing (hold on, trust God) and our mind is telling us something else (this is not fair). “Having sorrow in my heart daily” must be a forlorn feeling. There was a family a couple of years ago who tragically and unexpectedly lost their son who, at the age of 13, died of a massive heart attack. It was determined to be a birth defect that had gone undetected. This family must have suffered with great sorrow in their hearts daily. After one year the mother put a notice in the local newspaper letting everyone know the family was doing fine and how they made it over the past year. She gave the Bible verse she had come across during her despair—the one that reminded her to listen to her soul—that God is always in control and knows what he is doing. What an inspiration to hear from one who had suffered a mother’s worst fear—the loss of her child! How kind of her to share with the rest of us mother’s who were experiencing an undercurrent of anxiety—“if it could happen to them then it could happen to us”. How comforting to know that in the midst of her sorrow she found comfort from the God she trusted. This is what David experienced, this is what we experience. We are human and we will lament from time to time. God will provide comfort and peace when we trust him in spite of the pain we experience. Anyone who ever experienced long term suffering can attest to how David must have felt so many years ago. He did trust God and that was why his soul provided counsel. David held on to the faith that God would eventually turn things around—and God did.
Lord, thank you for being there for me and thank you for having a plan for my life. Help me to trust in you and your plan even when my life seems out of control or I am being treated unfairly. Give me the comfort and peace of knowing you are a just God and you never make mistakes. I pray in Christ’s name, Amen.

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