Abounding
Many years ago, I walked through a season of deep depression that left my body aching like I had the flu. My focus was fixed on everything that seemed wrong in my life, and more than once I found myself asking God, “Where are You?”
Perhaps you've asked that question too.
At the time, it felt as though I was trapped in a dark balloon, cut off from hope and unable to find a way out. My circumstances consumed my thoughts. The more I focused on what was wrong, the darker everything seemed.
Looking back now, after spending nearly a third of my life studying God's Word, I can see what I couldn't see then. God had not abandoned me. The answer was there all along. What needed to change wasn't God's faithfulness—it was my focus.
Like David, I needed to stop staring at my problems and start looking at the character of God.
That is what makes Psalm 86 so powerful.
Many Bible scholars believe this psalm reflects a difficult season in David's life—perhaps while he was fleeing from Saul, enduring Absalom's rebellion, or facing another period of intense pressure. We don't know the exact circumstances, but we do know this: David was in trouble.
Yet instead of allowing his fears to define his perspective, David anchored himself in the faithfulness of God.
The heart of the psalm is found in verses 15–17. After pouring out his fears and requests before the Lord, David turns his attention to who God is:
“But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
These words echo God's self-revelation to Moses in Exodus 34:6, when God proclaimed His own character. David drew strength from a truth that had sustained God's people for generations: God is faithful because faithfulness is part of His very nature.
That is why Psalm 86 remains so encouraging today.
David's circumstances were uncertain, but God's character was not. The same was true in my season of depression, and it is true in whatever you may be facing today.
A simple takeaway from Psalm 86 is this:
When David didn't know what God would do, he reminded himself of who God is.
And what David discovered is what believers in every generation have discovered: God is compassionate, gracious, abounding in love, and always faithful.
