Too Busy to Play Catch

A Series on “Disappointment with God”

A look at the Psalms

Psalm 13

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2013&version=NIV;NLT;MSG

 

There was a song in 1974 by Harry Chapin called, “Cats in the Cradle”. It was about a father who was too busy for his son as he was growing up, and the son who became too busy for his father after he grew up.

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, thanks for the ball, dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw,

I said, not today I got a lot to do

I can relate to this song because I felt that way about my own Dad when I was younger. It seemed like almost everything was more important than me. Work was more important; Lions Club was more important; church was more important; civic duties were more important. He was too busy to play catch.

 

That’s how anyone would feel if the person whose love you need the most always seemed to be withheld from you. David knew how that felt.

 

¹ O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
    How long will you look the other way?           NLT

¹ Long enough, God—
    you’ve ignored me long enough.
I’ve looked at the back of your head long enough.      MSG

 

If we’re honest with ourselves, we sometimes feel this same way towards God. Why doesn’t He listen to me? Why doesn’t He answer my prayers? Why is everything else more important than me? Those are honest feelings and rarely do we recognize them, let alone confess them. Yet, David wrote these words also,

 

⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love.
    I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
⁶ I will sing to the Lord
    because he is good to me.           NLT

 

Despite feeling alienated, ignored and isolated from God, David also recognized God’s unfailing love. My Dad was too busy to play catch; but my Heavenly Father is always there for me.