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17 The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
free me from my anguish.

David sounds like a man who has intimate knowledge of Murphy. For those of you who may not be aware, yes, Murphy was a real guy, and yes, this unfortunate human was the first to experience what would come to be known legendarily throughout the world as "Murphy's Law". Murphy's law has most often been stated as follows: anything that can possibly go wrong, does. And of course, Murphy's law has spawned a wide and diverse body of laws that are unique derivatives of the original. I'll bet that most of you have come to be very well acquainted with some of these, such as:

- Love laws: all the good ones are taken
- Computer laws: any given program, when running, is obsolete
- Laws of Learning: You never catch on until after the final test
- Photography laws: auto focus - won't
- EMT laws: all bleeding stops. . . eventually

The list goes on and on. When David says that the troubles of his heart have multiplied, I think immediately of Murphy's laws. Perhaps it was something with his family. WIth his brothers, he was the squirt. If you've ever been the squirt in the family, and especially if you have seven brothers, you know how many problems he faced. Forget about the seven brothers, what about eight wives? Most of us have our hands full with one spouse; I can't even fathom the difficulties of having eight. You couldn't even give your full attention to one wife per day per week! Then there's all those sons (and one daughter who had some issues of her own). Absalom rebels big time, and ends up dead. Yes, for David, the problems were multiplied!

I'm well acquainted with the saying, when it rains, it pours. That seems to be the epitome of Murphy's law. But there is a "silver lining" in all this. James said it in the first chapter of his letter, when he told us to "consider it pure joy" when we face trials of many kinds. Why? Because it produces perseverance. But perseverance in itself is not the end goal - the end goal is maturity and completeness. Two traits that we really can't develop without undergoing some of that "anguish" that David speaks of.

If today you find yourself in the "pouring rain" so to speak, don't panic, don't jump ship, and don't be discouraged. God is working out His plan for your life to cause you to become mature and complete. I think perhaps the secret to being relieved of the anguish lies not so much in the alleviation of the problem, but in the determination and stamina that we exhibit which causes us to face the issues in a whole new way.

So, don't avoid Murphy. Believe me, he won't avoid you. . .