The captain of the destroyer I served on during the Vietnam War sent me home several weeks early for training. The ship’s schedule required dropping me off at an Air Force base in the Philippines a week before my flight out. Knowing no one there, I faced a lonely wait. In some ways I felt God-forgotten, if not God-forsaken.

David the psalmist had feelings of God-forgottenness. He had times of being surrounding by enemies. He wrote of the aloneness one can feel when it seems God has turned away and the enemy is at the gate.

In the Philippines, I wondered, “Has God lost track of me way over here?” It could have been an opportunity for the enemy to gain the upper hand! I decided to do what I knew to do: worship. That evening I braved the unknown and went to the base chapel’s Sunday-evening service.

After the benediction, friendly folks greeted me. That week, Air Force Christians became a young Naval officer’s friends. God hadn’t overlooked or forgotten me. He’d answered my prayer. How long, Lord? “Just long enough to assure you I’m near, but never too long.”

If it seems God has forgotten you, follow David’s example in worship today: call on the Lord, trust his unfailing love, rejoice in his salvation, and sing praises for his goodness—even if you don’t feel like it.