From the archives. Originally preached in September 2020.

This passage comes in the greater context of understanding who God is, who you are, and what your attitude toward the Lord should be. James teaches that one with a true and living faith will have two defining attitudes toward the Lord. First, they will be humble before the Lord. And secondly, they will recognize their frailty and the power of God. These attitudes of the heart will produce the action of acknowledging God in all your ways.

Feelings are not facts, and emotions often obscure the truth. However, this does not negate the seriousness of feelings and the dramatic impact emotions have on how you see the world. God created you with emotions; however, because of the fall and the corruption of this world, emotions can be destructive and deceptive. Psalm 13 is a psalm of David that deals with his feelings of spiritual abandonment. David feels like God has forgotten him, refused to respond to him, and left him to be shamed by his enemies. David feels abandoned.

Psalm 13 is written in three stanzas. Stanza one contains David's despondent questions, which flow from his fear of God's abandonment. Stanza two is David's prayer for God to see him and answer his pleas. Stanza three is a response of faith in God's goodness. Psalm 13 teaches three ways to respond when you are struggling with feelings of abandonment.

The desire and will of God is for you to be in right relationship with Him and be in His presence. The testimony of this is that God has provided the way for the defiled to be made holy and those separated from Him by sin to draw near in confidence through the offering of His son, Jesus Christ.

The offering of Jesus reveals God's will, which calls for a response of faith. This passage teaches three responses to the offering of Jesus that God expects of you.