Sermon Central
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How Long To Hope
Contributed by David Dunn on Sep 4, 2025 (message contributor)
Summary: This message portrays David's cry for help, moving from a sense of abandonment to a confident trust in God's steadfast love and salvation.
INTRODUCTION – Chippie the Parakeet
Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. He was perched in his cage, singing happily to the little mirror on the side. Life was good.
Then his owner decided to clean the cage with a vacuum cleaner.
She pulled off the nozzle, put the hose into the cage — and just then, the phone rang. She turned to answer. In that split second: sssthopp! Chippie got sucked in.
Panicked, she tore open the bag. There was Chippie — alive, but stunned, covered in dust. She grabbed him, ran to the sink, and blasted him under the faucet. Now he was soaked and shivering. Out came the hair dryer — hot air, full blast.
Poor Chippie never knew what hit him.
A reporter followed up later. “How’s Chippie doing?”
The owner sighed: “Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore. He just sits and stares.”
Maybe you know how Chippie feels.
One day you’re singing your song, the next — sssthopp! — the doctor calls, the job disappears, the check bounces, the marriage unravels. What used to be calm is now chaos.
That’s where we meet David in Psalm 13. The singer of Israel has lost his song. His safe world has broken apart. And he cries out with words many of us have whispered:
> “How long, O Lord?”
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BODY – Three Stages of the Psalm
Psalm 13 moves us through three stages: Questions ? Requests ? Declarations.
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I. QUESTIONS – How Long, O Lord?
Four times in two verses, David repeats it: How long? How long? How long? How long?
“How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?”
“How long will You hide Your face from me?”
“How long must I wrestle with my thoughts?”
“How long will my enemy triumph over me?”
This is raw, unfiltered honesty. David feels abandoned, ignored, forgotten. First he says, God, have You forgotten me? Then worse: God, are You hiding from me?
Have you been there? You know God, you’ve walked with Him, you’ve seen answers to prayer — but then life collapses, and all you feel is silence.
David doesn’t bottle it up. He brings it straight to God. That is an act of faith — crying out to the very One who feels absent.
And notice: the cry isn’t polite. It’s desperate. “How long, O Lord?” Sometimes that’s all the prayer you have.
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II. REQUESTS – Consider, Answer, Light Up My Eyes
In verse 3, David shifts from questions to requests:
> “Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.”
He makes three requests:
1. Consider
“Look on me, Lord.” Not just glance, not just notice — but fix Your gaze on me. In the Bible, God’s look means favor, blessing, love.
Think about when you were first in love, when you were dating. All you wanted was the attention of your beloved — their eyes fixed on you. That look meant belonging, safety, and joy.
That’s what David longs for — the gaze of God.
And here’s the gospel truth: because of Christ, we have it. We don’t have to hide in shame like Adam and Eve did in the garden. We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. God sees us and says, You are Mine.
The hymn writer said it perfectly:
> “And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own.”
That’s the look David craved. That’s the look you already have in Jesus.
2. Answer
David cries, “Answer me.” Not just notice me, Lord, but act for me. Step into my struggle. Don’t let me drown in silence.
3. Light up my eyes
Whether it was sickness, despair, or both, David felt close to death. His eyes were dim. “Light me up again, Lord. Restore my vision, restore my strength, restore my hope.”
When God turns His face toward us, His light pierces the darkness.
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III. DECLARATIONS – But I Have Trusted
And then the turn. Verses 5–6:
> “But I have trusted in Your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.”
Notice — nothing in David’s circumstances has changed. Enemies are still around. Pain is still real. God hasn’t yet “fixed” the situation. But David remembers.
He remembers God’s steadfast love — that rich Hebrew word hesed, God’s covenant love that never lets go.
He remembers God’s salvation — that God rescues, delivers, saves.
Remembering shifts everything. His cry of despair becomes a song of praise: “I will sing to the Lord, for He has dealt bountifully with me.”
That’s faith. Not denial, but defiance. Looking suffering in the face and saying, My God is bigger. My God is faithful. My God will see me through.
