Articles
I Am Weak
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Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled. (Psa. 6:2)
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As with most Bible heroes, we like to think of David as a tower of strength, a fearless champion for God who conquered his foes and stood firm in the storms that assailed him. But if we study his life in detail, we learn that this image is a caricature of the real David. Whatever his achievements, this Psalm provides a peek into the tumultuous inner life that David lived.
David wrote this Psalm at a low point in his career. The pressures of life were closing in on him, and he was nearing the breaking point. His soul was "greatly troubled" (v. 3), and he was overwhelmed with despondency: "I am weary with my groaning . . . my eye wastes away because of grief" (v. 6-7). He even questioned if God cared anymore; had God turned against him (v. 1)? Whatever the circumstances he was experiencing at this time, David's plea for God's mercy reflected a state of spiritual exhaustion. "I am weak" is the cry of a man who is hanging on by his fingernails.
David's honesty about the fragility of his faith should inspire us to be honest about our own struggles. In our eagerness to live our lives as Christians, we set ourselves up for failure by forgetting that life is not a steady upward progression, but a wild ride full of peaks and valleys. If we expect our faith journey to be smooth and pleasant, our little bubble will be punctured by some rude shocks along the way, and our faith will take some serious hits. When those days come, all of David's language will become our own: weariness, grief, groaning, trouble, weeping. Like David, we will fall to our knees and cry out to God, "I am weak!"--because we are!
On those days when nothing seems to be working right, and you struggle for answers to questions that make no sense, remember these words of David. There is nothing going on in your life that other people of faith have not encountered, too. This struggle is part of the package that comes with being a believer.
David was weak, but he knew where to turn for help: "O Lord, heal me!" We must learn to do the same, and hold fast to the God who will guide us through the darkness.
--David
