Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me

Psalm 6

In the old show HEE HAW there was a famous song. It started out like this, “Gloom, despair, and agony on me…” It goes on and on with lines like, “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all…” It was a funny skit, until you listen to the song and realize that it describes your life right now. Well, don’t feel alone and in the dark because we have all sung that song for ourselves at some point.

Again, a prayer to the Lord from David. He is in pain in the Psalm and is crying out to the Lord. Here is a list of his symptoms:

1. I am faint,
2. my bones are in agony,
3. my soul is in deep anguish,
4. I am worn out from groaning,
5. my bed is wet with weeping,
6. my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
7. my eyes fail.

Maybe this is your list, a cross section of you. A list of ingredients that has been put into your life cake right now. First, it is OK to let it all out. David did here in this Psalm. After all, God has made you and fashioned you. He knows your birth date and He also knows the day you will leave this world.

Before you end your prayer of rotten symptoms, you have to remind yourself who God is. Listen to what David says, he asks the Lord to deliver him because of His unfailing love. He declares the Lord has heard his cry for mercy, and finally he declares the Lord accepts his prayer. Even though you may be suffering from a list of symptoms like David was in this Psalm, remind yourself of the attributes of God. Here is the list for you to memorize:

1. He has unfailing love for us (v. 4)
2. He hears our cry (v. 8)
3. He accepts our prayers (v. 9)

Hardship in our lives should bring us closer to the Lord and force us to memorize His attributes. If hardship is pushing you away from God and you catch yourself singing the HEE HAW song, then you have forgotten God’s attributes. David remembered God’s attributes even in the middle of his pain. Let pain have its perfect push toward God today.

Prayer: Father, help us to keep our eyes on You in the middle of life’s sorrows and pain. We acknowledge that You have unfailing love for us, that You hear our cry, and that You answer our prayers. In Jesus’ name, amen.