“My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.”
– Psalm 6:7
There’s no guarantee that a believer’s life on earth will be all sunshine and roses. The psalms help us see and understand this reality. Grief and sorrow touches just about everyone in this sin-saturated, fallen world. Many among the faithful have battled depression across the centuries. King David knew grief, suffering, oppression, and despair better than most and he wasn’t afraid to talk about it with God.
Psalms like this one help us understand that it’s OK to go to God with our tears and our grief. It’s OK to be honest with God when we’re hurting, overwhelmed, angry, or depressed. He knows this already, yet sometimes we seem to believe we’re supposed to hide the truth from God and put on a happy face. That simply isn’t true. Be honest!
However, learn to be honest like King David… The psalms show us how to express every emotion from absolute joy to utter sorrow, but to always do so with trust and confidence in God’s goodness and faithfulness. In this psalm, David pours out his heart in sorrow, yet remains fully confident that, “The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.”
Please note that David isn’t saying he’s sure that relief for his grief is right around the corner. David’s confidence isn’t in an earthly outcome. His confidence is in God’s presence, God’s attentive listening to the prayers of His people, God’s love and faithfulness, and his knowledge that with the Lord, he’s never alone. May that be your confidence as well during hard times of grief and sorrow!