“Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.” (Ps 28:1 AV)
Here is a really profound thought. Those who do not have a vibrant relationship with God will be no different than those who have none. David’s concern was his relationship with God might become cold and unprofitable. David is not necessarily saying his moral or ethical life might suffer. Although it often does. No, he is making the comparison between those who walk with God in an intimate and deep way with those who do not. The pit is hell. It is a place of hopelessness. It is a place of darkness. David is not referring to failing into sin. Which would naturally happen. Rather, he is speaking of a demeanor of life. Being in a dark place is the reality of those who do not walk with God. Saved or lost.
We need social interaction. Without it, life can become intolerable. Over the years, I have had to minister to people housed in mental hospitals. Some of these facilities do a wonderful job. Others, not so much. It isn’t that they do not care. Rather, they are tremendously understaffed. The patients are left alone in their rooms, unattended and without company for hours or days on end. One such place I remember well. I went there to see a patient who happened to visit our church a few times. When I arrived, I noticed there were no common areas in which the patients congregated and interacted. The patients’ rooms were enclosed with no windows and their doors had only one small pane of glass at eye level. There was a place to scoot a tray of food in. These patients had no TV, no phone, no internet. They had no connection with the outside world. They were left with the thoughts of their own minds much of the time. To say they were miserable was an understatement. I think the facility got to the point where their only objective was that the patients stay alive without hurting themselves or others. The only way someone checked out of there was to succumb to medication and respond to treatment. The patient I went to see several times eventually was discharged. Why? Because the patient interacted with me and others and eventually overcame anxiety and harmful thoughts. Today, this person is married and is raising a family.
Being alone is not good. God didn’t make us that way. He made us with a need to have relationships. The primary one being with Him. David is concerned his walk with God will become cold. He was afraid a stale life with God would not be worth living. He knew that if he failed to connect with God, he would become as bitter and miserable as those who never had a connection with God. David understands walking with God is the only way to have a life of joy and peace with the world cannot give. He sees the poor miserable Lost and doesn’t want to go there. He sees how unfulfilled his life could become. He sees a life with no purpose and only a miserable outcome to look forward to. He doesn’t want that. He wants to walk with God so that his life would be far different than those whom he observes. We should, too. If we do not walk with God as we can, our life is not the best it can be. In fact, if we do not walk with God, we are of most men, miserable. We do not walk in hope and affirmation. We do not walk with purpose or guidance. We walk alone and we are the most horrible of company to keep.
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