Sometimes everything is laid bare before us. We see clearly the reality of our situation and our neediness. We can assess how our own actions have led to the pain that characterizes our lives. 

This seems to be David’s state of mind in Psalm 38. He’s conducting a reality check with the Lord: “Your arrows have pierced me . . . there is no soundness in my bones . . . my wounds fester . . . because of my sinful folly” (verses 2,3,5). He describes himself as feeble, crushed, and in anguish. 

He is also humble: “All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you” (verse 9). David’s situation is bleak. His own actions have brought painful consequences. He senses that the Lord is letting him sit in the pit that David’s own actions have dug. 

David is isolated and friendless. Yet in his misery and honesty, lies the way forward. He is confident that God forgives him and will continue to provide the path to wholeness, newness, and life.

It’s hard to hold ourselves up for examination, to be brutally honest and vulnerable. Yet as David tells us, our Lord lovingly walks through this process with us, even as we sometimes have to bear the results of our choices. He stands waiting to tread the path with us and lead us to renewal.

“Lord, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God. Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior” (verses 21,22).