My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long? Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave? I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes (Psalm 6:3-7 NIV).

"How long, O Lord, how long?"

Sound familiar?

Wondering the same thing? As you cried yourself to sleep again last night, did you ask, "How long, O Lord, how long?"

How long will the hurt be with me? How long before I can start the day without feeling so lonely?

"How long, O Lord, how long?"

That is the cry of the lonely — someone who eats by himself, watches the evening news by herself, goes to bed and wonders, "How long will I be alone?" They wake every day to the empty house. There's no one to call when they want to hangout with someone. They look forward to getting off work only to spend another lonely evening.

How long will I have this terrible ache in the pit of my stomach? The pain just will not go away. No matter how hard I try I just can't seem to get beyond the guilt and shame of what I did.

How long will I be away from home? I miss my home so much. I miss my parents. I miss my friends. I miss my room. Lord, I know this is where I am supposed to be right now, but I am so homesick. How long until I am back home?

We have no magic pills.

How long do we wait before we have a baby? We've tried everything. We're healthy. It just doesn't make sense that we can't get pregnant. What is wrong with us?

How long before we hear something from the doctor? Surely they can get the tests results sooner than this? Don't they care what the wait is doing to us?

There are times when life gets the best of us. Hurt, disappointment, discouragement, loneliness, fear, guilt, anger — these emotions build up until we cry out, "How long, O Lord, how long?"

We don't know how long. We have no magic pills. We have no easy solutions. We have no quick fixes. But, we do have the assurance from above that whatever pain we may be experiencing now will not last forever. The same David that asked, "How long, O Lord, how long?" later prayed,

I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit. Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning (Psalm 30:1-5).

Wild at Heart by John Eldredge Helping men rediscover their masculine heart, this is a guide to understanding Christian manhood and Christian men.

Tom Norvell is the author of "A Norvell Note." He ministers at the Hermitage Church of Christ in Hermitage, Tennessee.

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