Psalm 13 reminds me of the complaints people have about fasting. There is a difference. David is not talking about fasting from food, but a fast from God’s presence. The fast is not something David has taken upon himself. Rather, David feels very far from God. David’s enemies are all around him ready to gloat because of their victory over David, but have David’s enemies really won? David’s enemies do not just want to see David defeated. These enemies want to see David broken in spirit. David faces this challenge by choosing to put his faith in God. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, or selfishly longing for the things which will make him feel better, David chooses to rely on God. David chooses to remember who has provided for him again and again.
David is not talking about fasting, but fasting is supposed to prepare us for these kinds of times. Fasting is about denying ourselves something we really want so we might better learn to rely on God during those times when life is really hard. When we fast we are not supposed to gloat or brag we are fasting. People who brag about fasting often come across as condescending, or as outright jerks. Fasting is not about being better than anyone else. Fasting is about learning to rely more fully on the grace of God to sustain us through difficult times. I love David’s words in verse three.
“Consider and answer me, O Lord my
God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep
of death.” (Psalm 13:3 ESV)
While David could certainly be talking about physical death, there is another death – the death of credibility. I know I cannot be credible in my walk if I do not turn to God to “light up my eyes” when I do not feel like being good, or when I get stuck feeling sorry for myself. When I rely on God, when I ask for His light to shine through me, and then allow it to shine; others can see the fruit of my fasting.
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