A Devotional thought from Psalm 13
Psalm 13
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
1 How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?
How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and hear me, O Lord my God:
Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him;
And those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
5 But I have trusted in thy mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
6 I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
David was depressed.
I am no psychologist but I do play one on my blog. While I may not be a licensed professional, I have seen a few pros to help with my sometimes defective noggin. I can speak with some authority on the subject of depression. I have seen it in people that I love and experienced it on some level myself.
Depression is a cruel and deceptive enemy.
First, it changes our viewpoint with it’s lies and then it steals our happiness away. Depression will rob you of relationships as it siphons away your life. I believe I know how to spot depression and I see it in the Psalmist.
David was depressed!
In the previous Psalm David complained that there were no faithful men or women. While it is true that all of mankind are sinners and full of fault there were some very faithful men in David’s life that loved him dearly. I think that is a sign of depression. Depression sneaks into your lonely room and ever so gently places negative lenses over your perception.
In today’s Psalm his condition has worsened to the point that he not only believes he is forsaken by his friends, now he feels forsaken by his God. He asks God, “how long will you forget me?” in verse 1.
I have no doubts of my diagnosis, David is depressed!
I am so glad that I find this in the wonderful Word of God. Even the sweet psalmist of Israel, king David himself got depressed. If he struggled with similar thoughts and passions then perhaps there is hope for you and I.
David was Depressed!
How did he deal with it. He spoke honestly to God. He prayed laying out his constant sorrow and fear to the one who had power to help him.
The psalm began in depression and ends with faith filled confidence.
Psalm 13:5-6
5 But I have trusted in thy mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
6 I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
While this Psalm is short, the process of bringing in faith to fight the enemy of depression is a long one. The important thing to see is that David eventually realized that God had not forgotten him and he was not alone. He was eventually able to sing again and recognize his bountiful blessings.
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