Turn Your Gaze Away From Me

Psalm 39:13  "Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may smile again Before I depart and am no more."
Why would David ask the Lord to turn His gaze away from him, to look away?  Isn't it a blessing that God is always looking at us, gazing at us always?
Not in this situation.  In verse 8 we see that David had a sin that God was dealing with him.  And when he was silent about it, not confessing it, this made matters worse for him - spiritually.
Psalm 39:9  I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this. 10  Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand.

This is what many Christians call "conviction".  Our heart being convicted of sin does not come from our conscience, but from God Himself making us realize His disdain, His anger, towards our sin.  It makes us realize that we have sinned against Him, and not just about doing something wrong.  This is why there are some Christians who continue in sin because for them they are not doing anything wrong.  But no one can escape the gaze of a holy and righteous God convicting us of a sin, and making us realize that we have gone against His will, His righteousness.

The gaze of God is always a blessing.  He makes us know that He is always with us, whether it is in times of righteousness, or in times when we sin.  And when we sin He will always make us realize that we have sinned against Him, and His desire is always that we turn away from that sin and walk in His grace and righteousness again, and therefore make us smile again.