Lent Devotional on Psalm 31

The words of Psalm 31 roar with dread and with the angst of desolation, like being lost in the wilderness with no clear path. There is no solace in the solitude, only grief. But after darkness, light. “Let your face shine upon me” is the hopeful petition, even as the psalmist declares, “Blessed be the LORD, for the LORD has wondrously shown steadfast love to me.” To pray Psalm 31 is to hope and to hope is to believe that God is for us, not against us. And in this, there is a great comfort, like running water in the wilderness.