Meet Erik Bailey

I remember listening to a pastor remark about how much he loved reading the Psalms because David seems so bipolar. David can start a Psalm in total despair and end it praising God a few verses later. I kind of chuckle about this myself, but is this not just like me and perhaps like many of us?  

When I was going through Celebrate Recovery for the first time and learning to trust Christ instead of my old coping mechanisms, I would find myself anxious about things. I would be anxious that I would not perform well at work or that I would not have enough money to retire. At times I still struggle with feeling anxious.  

Typically, this happens when I focus on my wants, desires, and fears, and how I can control the results.  I wrestle with them in my head and try to sort them out.  However, when I remind myself of who Christ is, take the focus off of myself and put it on Him, trust Him with the outcome, and praise Him for who He is and what He has done in my life thus far, my worries fade away.  

In this passage, David is anxious about being captured by his enemies and perhaps angry about having to hide from King Saul's army. Some of the details are unclear, but it appears that David is dealing with his fears and wants. However, instead of trying to sort them out himself, he takes them to God. "How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me? . . . How long will my enemy gloat over me?" (Psalm 13:1-2). David desperately pleads with God to change his circumstances, and he is honest with God about his fears and his heart's condition. 

Then, there is a change. God steps in. David focuses on trusting and praising God, and his anxious heart is changed. "But I trust in your faithfulness. May I rejoice because of your deliverance! I will sing praises to the Lord when he vindicates me." (Psalm 13:5-6).  Trusting God and praising Him changes our hearts.