We have all had times when our lives seem to hit rock bottom. Just when we think that our problems can’t get any worse—they do. We have struggled and done everything we know to do to fix our problems, but despite our best efforts, nothing seems to be getting better.

We sometimes get so desperate that we start crying out to God for His help. Even worse, sometimes it seems as if even God Himself isn’t listening to us. Would you be comforted to know that others have had similar experiences?

This may surprise some of you, but there are many examples of godly people in the Bible who also wondered if God really cared about their desperate situations. We read of one such person in Psalm 130 in the Bible.

You can just feel how anxious he is in the first two verses: “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications” (Psalm 130:1–2). The writer is expressing his feelings of utter despair. He felt like things couldn’t get any worse because he said, “Out of the depths I have cried.” In other words, “I’m sitting here at the bottom of a very deep pit.”

Just to prove that Psalm 130 isn’t the only time in the Bible that we hear desperation from God’s followers, here are two more examples:

“To You, O Lord, I call; My rock, do not be deaf to me, for if You are silent to me, I will become like those who go down to the pit” (Psalm 28:1) and “I stretch out my hands to You; My soul longs for You, as a parched land. Answer me quickly, O Lord, my spirit fails; do not hide Your face from me, or I will become like those who go down to the pit” (Psalm 143:6–7).

After expressing his feelings of extreme anxiety in Psalm 130, he begins to talk about what solved his despair. If we look carefully, we will find wisdom that will help us deal with our times of anguish, too. At first glance, his solution may not seem very helpful, but stick with me, and I’ll show why his words are so powerful.

“If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared” (Psalm 130:3–4).

The author in Psalm 130 begins finding his way back by reminding himself of what he does know for sure. This is very helpful because when life gets confusing, it’s like walking around in a dark cloud. We’re not sure where to turn or what to do next. One of the first things we who are Christians can do is to remember and focus on what we know for sure to be true. This helps us begin getting our emotional balance back.

So what are we absolutely sure of? Verses 3 & 4 remind us of two important truths.

First, if God left even one sin on our account, we would be doomed forever. The question is NOT if we have sinned enough to suffer God’s wrath, but have we ever sinned at all? I say this because the Bible says, “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (James 2:10). In other words, you become a guilty law-breaker even if you only break one law. (Try telling a policeman who is arresting you that it’s no big deal because you only robbed one bank!) Let me remind you that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…” (Romans 1:18).

Second, in spite of our sins, Psalm 130 points out that God has made complete forgiveness possible by satisfying God’s wrath against our sins FOR us. That is why Jesus suffered on the Cross. That sacrifice made it possible for God to “… show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7). Jesus’ payment for our offenses is applied to everyone who repents of their sin and follows Him.

Those two truths can turn a bright light onto life’s dark pathways. Dr. Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he “could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75 % of them could walk out the next day.” One Bible teacher put it this way: “When we truly understand God’s forgiveness and the cost of it, in sending Christ to the Cross, we are broken and humbled, as we bow in awe before God. There is no presumption here. There is no flippancy here. We deserve judgment; we receive mercy. Like the returning prodigal son, we are staggered by the Father who welcomes us home free.”

[Williams, D., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1989). Vol. 14: The Preacher’s Commentary Series]

No matter what hardships life throws at us, we can always know that we are eternally loved and that, “… If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:31–32).

Notice, that in spite of his problems, for the one writing Psalm 130 those two facts turned despair into genuine joy. He turned his attention to others and boldly proclaimed: “…Hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is lovingkindness, and with Him is abundant redemption” (Psalm 130:7). Here he discovered a joy that superseded his disappointments. Paul explained it this way: “In [Jesus] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us…” (Ephesians 1:7–8).