Psalm 22

Here is another passage from David expressing anguish and looking to God for answers:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day,
but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises[a] of Israel.
In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother's womb you have been my God.
Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.

Ever feel like this? Tomorrow we'll see how David resolves these feelings of trouble, fear, and pain.

Psalm 13

How should we talk to God when it comes to our emotions? How do we express fear, anger, frustration, and hopelessness to our God? As believers, should we even experience these emotions? Shouldn't we have control over these emotions...have "victory" over them? The Bible shows us that even those who are filled with His Spirit struggle with emotions. King David - a man after God's own heart - expressed his emotions to God and not always with restraint. This week, I'll have a few posts on this topic, but I wanted to start with Psalm 13.

David speaks plainly - to say the least - to the Lord:

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.