Abandoned. Alone. Nothing left to live for. Hardly sounds like words one might expect from the mouth of a king. And yet, David pours out his wretchedness before God. The darkness is a real and living thing, threatening to overtake David’s very existence, to cause him to “fall into the sleep of death.” The depth of such depression knows no economic boundaries, distinguishing little between prince and pauper.
Read More despair, trust, hope, dépressionI curled in a fetal position, dark eddies of despair threatening to overtake me. My world was crashing down around me. I gasped out to God for help, for a small measure of peace. Over time, he pulled me from that dark place. But it didn’t come easy. I had to believe God could – and would – take those burdens I carried; I had to believe he was listening.
Read More hope, rest, dépression, despair, prayerIt’s hard when people are against you, especially those you count as friends. It’s harder still to think about doing good to others when you’re down, even sick. But God protects and blesses those who do this and in the end restores them (vv 1-3).
It may be you are feeling that there is not much hope. That you don’t deserve God’s blessing never mind his healing or relief from those who are coming against you.
Read More betrayal, dépression, sickness, psalms
Listening to the outpouring of someone else’s grief as we do in these verses can be painful and disturbing. The expressions of pain and the horror of the situation grow in intensity, with mothers reduced to eating their own dead children (v 20). Nothing remains of the past; everything is black and hopeless.
Read More confusion, grief, dépression, theological questions
I curled in a fetal position, dark eddies of despair threatening to overtake me. My world was crashing down around me. I gasped out to God for help, for a small measure of peace. Over time, he pulled me from that dark place. But it didn’t come easy. I had to believe God could – and would – take those burdens I carried …
Read More prayer, hope, rest, dépression, despair