Have you ever questioned if God can really use you when you feel overwhelmed by life? People talk of living as alongsiders, but how does that work when my internal world feels like a mess and some days are simply about making it to the end in one piece? What on earth do I have to offer others that could possibly encourage them in their journey with God?

Psalm 13 has become one of my favourite passages to go to when I need reminding that my brokenness is not a hindrance to God working in my life. In fact, I wonder if my brokenness enables me to see God at work in my own and others' lives more clearly. I have found myself in some very dark places over the course of my life. Depression, anxiety and various other mental health issues have been frequent companions. Like David in the psalm, I have found myself floundering around in the dark at times, asking God where on earth he is in all of this. The Bible is full of characters who appear to spend a lot of time feeling troubled or in despair – Joseph, David, Jeremiah and Naomi to name a few. 

Not alone in feeling alone

Many of the psalms talk of despair in the face of adversity, whether that be caused by fear of being chased down by enemies, or by the crushing guilt of our own sin. In Psalm 13:1-3 David writes:

‘How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death.’ 

David was the chosen and anointed king of Israel, and yet here he is wondering if God has forgotten him, whether he has been left in his brokenness and sorrow to die alone. This psalm could be read as pretty dire and depressing – not one to go to when you’re having a bad day and definitely not one to go to when you're having a good day. The last two verses bring a surprise ending:

‘But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.’

David is still experiencing and feeling all the things he mentioned in the previous verses and yet his heart looks to God in that moment and believes that God is still good, as he has always been, that God still loves him and that God has still saved him.

What do I have to offer someone else?

When I think about walking alongside others, I sometimes question what qualifies me to do so.

This psalm speaks to me of someone who lives a real, authentic and honest life, someone who struggles with disappointment, doubt and insecurity. And it is exactly those things that qualify him to point others to God. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Paul states that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. It is our weaknesses that will point others to the grace and power of God, and to the fact that it is only God who can provide the love, acceptance and forgiveness that so many are looking for.

Simply sitting and being with someone in their moment of grief or despair can speak volumes. It communicates to people that they are seen, heard and understood. It's as if you are saying: I don’t have all the answers, but I have been in similarly dark places myself and I will sit here with you and believe with every part of my being that God is still God, that his love is unfailing and that somehow through all the struggles of living in a broken world, having a personal relationship with God has made all the difference.

What if the darkness doesn’t lift?

So where does that leave us when we do find ourselves floundering around in the dark? How do we navigate the darkness, rather than becoming overwhelmed by it? And how do we help others who find themselves in similarly dark places? For me personally, it is knowing and believing even when I don’t necessarily feel it, that God is always right there in the very midst of it.

The Bible talks of darkness as something that is ever present on this earth. It is something that every human being experiences. It also tells us that the light of God, his truth, ‘shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it’ (John 1:5).

I can navigate the darkness because the light continues to shine. Perhaps it shines one or two steps in front of me, leading me slowly out of the darkest of places. Or perhaps I find myself, like David in Psalm 13, despairing in the dark but clinging to the knowledge that God still sees me and is still right beside me. As David tells God in Psalm 23:4, ‘Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me’ and, in Psalm 139:12, ‘Even in darkness I cannot hide from you.’ 

Whether it is you or someone you know who finds themselves stumbling in the dark, I think the most helpful thing is to know you are not alone. Our own experiences can reveal Jesus to others when we come alongside, acknowledge, see and hear another person’s pain and struggle, and gently remind them that there is hope – there is one who sees us and who has overcome the darkness on our behalf, and we look to eternity when all of this darkness will finally be dispelled.