I guess you could say he had his good days and he had his bad days. When you look at some of the things he wrote, it almost seems that his bad days outnumbered the good ones. If you think that the “sweet psalmist” of Israel was a guy on a continual optimistic high, you’d be wrong. David certainly had his share of ups and downs. When David started his 13th Psalm, it certainly wasn’t on a high note. He wrote, “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1)
I have to admit that there are times when I could be the one writing those words instead of David. And it’s at those times that you kind of wonder how you’re going to survive. God seems so far away. Everything seems to be going wrong. How did David do it? Just keep reading…
“But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation” (Psalm 13:5). It’s that “mercy” word that I think was a key to David’s survival. The Hebrew word is “khesed” (you have to clear your throat as you pronounce it). Other Bibles translate it as “unfailing love”, “lovingkindness”, or “steadfast love”. One version reads, “I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms”. It’s one of those words that is used to describe God’s nature inEx. 34:6 (“goodness”). It’s just who God is. There are a lot of things that you can’t count on, but beloved, you CAN count on God’s unfailing love. And counting on His love is how we survive.
