Have you ever been in the "depths?" One time David prayed, "Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold" (Ps. 69:1-2). David wasn't really in literal waters, but it was like he was drowning in the overwhelming issues crashing down around him. Depth captures the emotion of terror, fear, pain, grief, questions, and conflict that can hold the human heart captive.

In Psalm 130, a song the people sang on their way to worship, there is a prayer the people prayed, "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord" (vs. 1). So, they knew about depths, too. Let me ask again, have you ever been in the depths? Are you in the depths now?

You're probably thinking, "What silly questions! When am I ever not in the depths of something crashing in around me?" Good point. Life is hard and complicated, with pressures bearing down on us some from within and self-inflicted, and others from without and beyond our control.

The ancient worshipers had it right in that they brought their very lives into the reality of God and they put their hope in the Lord whose love was unfailing (vs. 7). Unashamedly they prayed, "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope" (vs. 5). They took God seriously and made God the focus of their existence. You can feel their passion in their words, "My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning" (vs. 6).

And, Israel had it right. The real problem at the root of all problems is the resulting effect of sin. They knew they didn't just need help; they needed God in their story. After all, they said, "with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins" (vs. 8).

It's a good idea to let God into our stories.