How Long, Oh Lord?

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

It was a quarter past four in the morning as I drove the thirty-five-minute commute to my job. The thought that repeated itself over in my head might have been the same one David cried in the thirteenth psalm. How long, Lord? How much longer? Like so many others, I was in a position where I believed no solutions could be sought. It didn’t matter how many tears were shed, how many prayers I prayed, how many conversations I had with loved ones. It seemed I would be forever stuck in my situation.

During this prayer time, however, I began to realize that my main problem wasn’t really my situation; it was my lack of faith.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen.” In other words, having faith is believing something we cannot know for certain will happen. Faith is a choice. We do not always feel it. We can’t always see it. Our circumstances may prove otherwise. However, we can know whether or not our faith is real by the choice to keep going and remain faithful, especially when we feel otherwise.

As we find ourselves emerged in this holiday season [new year], our cry may be, How long, Oh Lord? Whether your cry emerges from a painful past, financial strain, loneliness, or some other trouble to which you see no solution, remember that the mountain can be moved.