Psalms 142 (Part I)

¹ I cry out to the Lord with my voice;
With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.
² I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare before Him my trouble.

It is obvious when reading this Psalm by David that he was really low in his spirit.  Very likely depressed.  Notice how he prays to God.  He tells God that he cries out to Him with his own voice, it's his cry to God.  You are my God and I am calling out to You.  These are my calls for help, my requests.  I am telling You my troubles.  This is my call to You.  David has poured his heart out to His God.

It seems that we so often pray for others and their cries for help, but here David is telling his Lord that he is calling upon Him for himself, his condition.  Have you ever been there?  Have you been so desperate, so hopeless, so broken that you've prayed "God if you don't do something, there is no way."  My question is why do we have to get hopeless and broken before we pray a prayer like that.  If we are honest, everyday should begin with that prayer because that is the real truth.  "God if you don't do something, there is no way."  Our only hope is God.  If we do not have hope, then we do not have faith and we don't believe.

³ When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly set a snare for me.
⁴ Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.

As he sank into depression and despair, he declares that God knew his way.  This is a testimony that says God never leaves us, even in our worst condition.  When we are all but gone and have no more fight within us, when we are all used up and can't find a single positive thing to rally around, when we don't know what else to do, God knows our path and is there.

The people around are setting traps and want you to fall further.  They want your total destruction.  There is nowhere for you to go.  No one around you cares or helps.  There is nowhere to hide and no one cares about your very life.  You are at the end of your rope and the thought of death is appetizing.  There is no place to go for security and safety.  David is calling out to God here and laying out plainly his desperation.  He is alone and the world is too heavy for him.

I don't know anyone who doesn't recognize this place.  No one likes being there, yet everyone knows where it is.  Where do we turn when this happens?  Where is our faith?