Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (Psalm 13), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• David, the representative and ruler of God’s people, is distressed primarily by God’s apparent absence. Difficult circumstances are distressing insofar as they call God’s care into question. What distresses you most about difficult circumstances you face? Have you ever lamented God’s apparent absence? Do you believe that God is/was actually absent, or do you just feel that way? Why is there a difference between your beliefs and your feelings on the matter?

• Four times David asks Yahweh, “How long…?” Implicit in the question is the belief that there will eventually be an end to the distress. Why do Christians have such a belief? Do you have this hope for the future? Does this hope enable you to stoically face difficulties in life, or does it cause you to cry out to Yahweh, “How long?“

• Where does the counsel of your own soul take you during times of spiritual turmoil? Has God been silent regarding your spiritual condition? Has he left you to your own counsel? How is the counsel of your own soul different from God’s counsel? Why is it hard to remember or to believe God’s counsel during times of spiritual turmoil?

• Can you imagine Jesus, the true representative and ruler of God’s people, praying this Psalm? Now, God’s apparent absence is a meeting place, a place for our communion with God the Son, who has had his prayers met with silence and who has suffered death and the grave. Now, we wait for God with God. How might this change the way you feel about the difficult circumstance of your life? How might it change the way you encourage others who are facing hard times?