Paranoia?

Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.

But I pray to you, Lord,
in the time of your favour.
in your great love, O God,
answer me with your sure salvation.
Rescue me from the mire,
do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
from the deep waters.

Psalm 69:4,13-14 NIVUK

Is David being paranoid here? Apparently, the average number of hairs on a person’s head is about 100,000. So did this many people really hate David? Were his thoughts being driven by his feelings of persecution and a lack of justice, or was he really in a very difficult place? Whatever the answer would be to this question, David always ending up being reminded of God and His love, salvation and deliverance. And he prayed. David was doing what we all do from time to time. Who has never wondered what other people are thinking about us? Who has never had thoughts that the whispering and quick glances in our direction are gossip about us? David was setting out his feelings, graphically describing what was going on inside of him. And the expression of the negatives were followed through by his arrival on God’s door step. Where he prayed and received the assurance that he was seeking. And in the process he was setting us an example to follow when we too feel a bit paranoid.