Have you ever been on the brink of despair? When hope seems so far away and the situation seems to be pressing to give up, there is a very clear question that is when or will the situation end. That question is a sign of the deepest honesty of the heart because what often happens is that people refuse to be honest about their situation. They feel that they are still strong even though the cry for help is no longer bearable. As believers, such honesty should be directed to God who created and sustains our lives.

In our reading this time, we are given a description of the human condition in the face of distress or imminent danger. The language used by the psalmist to express the situation is powerful and poignant. He uses bulls, bulls of Bashan, lions and dogs as metaphors for his distress. What exactly was it that made him suffer so much? Is he describing an inner suffering, illness, or attack from others? It is possible that the psalmist's cry in this passage is a representation of all of them. The many possibilities of suffering that human beings do experience.

The psalmist felt so helpless that he felt he would be a helpless prey to his opponents who pursued him like oxen and the great and powerful bulls of Bashan. They would treat him like a lion treats its prey. Seeing all this, the psalmist became so frightened that he lost all strength and vitality altogether. But interestingly, in the poem that he expressed, he still stated that in his mental and physical suffering, God's hand was still working to sustain him.

God's word today teaches us to be honest and to remember the fact that basically everyone has experienced struggles and sufferings in their lives. We need to be honest about what we are going through without being burdened to be strong all the time. It is precisely in the honesty of our own fragility that we are enabled to see His strong hand that supports and carries us.