Whose fault?

My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes. Psalm 38.10

There is a suggestion of witchcraft from the original Hebrew language in which this line was written. Was the penitent acting under demonic influence when they committed whatever misdemeanour led to their plight? We shall never know and yet it has driven them to the brink, as the loss of light from the eyes hints at the contemplation of suicide. The only thing that matters now is the retrieval of hope, so that healing and restoration can begin.

We inhabit a "blame culture", where everything bad is someone else's fault and we scrabble around to justify every thought or action. This Psalm confirms that God already knows the truth and the whole Bible bears witness that God not only has the solution to our woes but that God also longs to lavish that solution upon us, through healing and restoration.

Jesus came to take away our sin and reclothe us in his righteousness. He became our sin, nailing it to the cross in his own body. His bodily resurrection three days later confirms the success of his mission and is the ground of our hope. Accepting Jesus as Saviour and confessing our sin, by taking responsibility for our thoughts and actions are the first and vital steps to recovery - whatever is ailing us.