“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools” (Psalm 39:4,7,8).

These words come from a place of absolute honesty. David’s troubles seem to be from God, a needed life correction. And yet David turns to God. God administers the stinging antiseptic, but he’s also the cure, the cooling breeze, the solace. 

There’s no sin too big for God or surprising to God. There’s no question too big for God. Every dilemma, even those of our own making, can be brought to the Lord. There’s no one who understands the ways of human beings like God. There’s no love that matches God’s love.

There’s no easy conclusion to this psalm. It ends in pleading and anguish. We too sometimes feel our questions and prayers spoken into a void or echoing in emptiness. This is a sacred space between us and the Lord, where in confusion and even anger we lean into our relationship with him and ask hard questions. Even as we wait for answers, we can know that we are surrounded by his love. 

Our questions are heard and answered. Even in darkness God promises: “I have loved you with an everlasting love. . . . I will build you up again. . . . You will . . . go out to dance with the joyful” (Jeremiah 31:3,4).