For God, Family and Republic

Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me,
For I am desolate and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart have enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses!
Look on my affliction and my pain,
And forgive all my sins.
Consider my enemies, for they are many;
And they hate me with cruel hatred.
Keep my soul, and deliver me;
Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for You.
—Psalm 25:16-21

King David was exasperated from running and hiding among caves and in dark, damp abodes during his flight from Saul. David knew the grip of loneliness and despair, which darkened his hope and sapped his spiritual vitality. It was in his solitude of desperation that he cried out to God, acknowledging his loneliness and his affliction, and he he asked God to turn to him with His gracious mercy. David's example is an ideal for all suffer affliction, the pains of sorrow, or loneliness in life's journey.

God doesn't want us to be lonely: and he designed us for fellowship. He knew your innermost desires, your feelings, and your hardships, long before you were born. He knows the very number of hairs upon your head. We have a helper in the Holy Spirit, and we should drown out the lies of our adversary by continually setting our sights on the promises of God. Be of good cheer! There is a sovereign God in action who hears our prayers and cries from afar.

Let us of faith find solace in the Psalms of David. If the Psalms could be summed up in one word it would be "Help!"

God hears our prayers, and uses life's struggles to remind us of our unequivocal dependence upon him. As William Cowper, a Christian whose life was a medley of depression and hope, surmised, "Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face."