A Desperate Prayer for Desperate Times

You may think you've had a bad day, but it's nothing compared to the heartache David felt in Psalm 38. In this Psalm, David describes one of the darkest points of his life. With blunt transparency, he admits that some of his pain and confusion comes from his own sins and foolish decisions. In addition, his cup of heartache is filled up with the accusations and attacks of his enemies; even worse, his family and friends have turned their backs on him when he needed them most.

Where could he turn now? In a desperate cry for help, David turned to God. "You won't forsake me, too will You?" he seems to plead. Everything in his life had gone wrong, and everyone had turned against him. In this moment of hopelessness, David asked for help and found hope in God.

Our troubles may come from a wide variety of sources, but we don't want to experience them all at once the way David did! Whenever we feel hopeless, abandoned, misunderstood, betrayed, or incompetent, we can always turn to the One who is faithful to listen, to care, and to restore hope. This time of desperation wasn't the end of the road for David, and times of desperation aren't the end of us either - if we'll turn our attention to God and express our trust that He will come through.

Psalm 38:21-22 Do not forsake me O Lord, my God, be not far from me. Make Haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!