Navigating UncertaintySample

Suffering time

One of the novel innovations of a movie on the circuit a few years ago was a filming technique called "bullet-time." The movie slowed the action down so that you could see the bullets going along at a snail's pace as they flew through the air, allowing the hero to duck bullets.

In Psalm 13, David wrestles with the reality of "suffering time." For him, it feels like the test he is going through lasts forever and that no end is in sight. This is a classic personal lament psalm, briefly but thoroughly, exploring the terrible reality of pain and sorrow and the depression one can go through during tragedy and sadness.

Let's see how David experiences it.
- It feels like it has been going on forever.
- It feels as though God is intentionally hiding from him.
-His mind is endlessly running around in circles, leaving him exhausted.
- His enemy (whether a physical enemy or his depression) keeps getting the upper hand.
- He fears he may get lost and succumb to how he feels.
- He doesn't want the enemy to triumph and gloat.

Have you felt like this at some point?

David makes some important choices to see him through this difficult depressive time.

• He chooses to trust. He lights a candle of hope. He dares to believe that this suffering time is a distortion of reality and there will be a time that he gets through it.
• He makes a heart decision to focus on God's saving acts. He focuses on God's character from what he knows rather than what he feels.
• He chooses to sing. Singing is something we do with our hearts and not with our heads. The wonder about singing is that the words of the songs become imprinted on our souls at a level even our cynical thought patterns cannot erase or erode. David chooses to sing about God's goodness and provision. Singing is something we can do in the valley, even when we find it hard to pray. It is the ultimate act of faith and trust.

Lord, thank You that David's psalm relates so closely to the blues we can go through. Thank You that even our "down" times do not catch You by surprise and that You have made provision for them. Help us to trustfully turn our hearts to You and sing of Your goodness. Amen