The Comfort of the Psalms in the Battles of LifeChikamu

Calling out to God from the depths

“Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.” (Psalm 69:1-2)

Psalm 69 grips you right away. “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths.” Imagine sinking into bottomless mud. Then you can only sink, slowly descending into the mud while panic increases. Struggling is not possible; the mud is too thick for that. You want to push yourself up with your hands, but the mud is too thin for that. Every movement causes you to sink deeper. And all you can think about is the moment when your cries for help will be stifled as the mud rushes into your mouth.

It's easy to understand why the first cry is “Save me, O God.” When David shouts this, he is not literally sinking in the mud. But it vividly conveys how he feels. It's also clear that it's been going on for a while. “I am weary of my crying; my throat is parched; my eyes grow dim.”

Maybe you know that feeling. Too much is going on; you can't handle it; it's overwhelming, drowning you, making you afraid, and all you can do is cry out to God. And God is there to save!

If you feel that you're sinking into bottomless mud, use Psalm 69 as a cry for deliverance. God hears you. He will not allow you to sink until the mud engulfs you. He will pull you out before your cries for help are silenced.