How Long?

Psalm 13: the theme phrase of this psalm is "how long".

I think this is a question that many ask of God. We know he has the power to change things. We know that he knows where we're at. How could he leave us in a difficult or dangerous situation?

Actually, this is one of those places where being a father really helps me describe things. My son has been sleeping pretty well on his own for the past two weeks, but last night he started crying around 4 AM. Usually he'll go back to sleep on his own after about 5 minutes, but this time was different. So I walked in to his room to check and see how he was doing, and found that he was actually doing ok.

Why does he start crying like that? Why doesn't he go back to sleep on his own in situations like that? I think what's going through his mind is: "how long?" How long, dad, until you hear me crying and come back for me? How long, mom, until you come over here and pick me and take care of me?

Trust me, both of us hate to hear our son cry. We always want him to be happy. But here's the catch: if we run into his room and pick him up every time he cries, he will never learn how to go back to sleep on his own. In fact, if we do that, we'd be training him to depend on us to comfort him back to sleep, and he'd never learn how to find comfort himself.

What I want to tell him in those moments when I feel like he's crying out "how long" is, "Don't worry son. We hear your cry. We know that what you're going through right now doesn't feel good, but we have a bigger plan for you. We are still watching over you. We still love you. Trust us and be patient. You will see."

I think sometimes that's what God wants to say to us as well.