For a Jewish man, this is the bottom, right? He's envious of the food of the pigs that he is caring for. His inheritance is gone. His community is gone. He is broken.
But God has not abandoned him. A quote that has always stuck with me is someone who has been through rough times said, "I have been to the bottom, and it is solid." This is not the end of his man's story -- God meets us where we are, even at the bottom, and provides a reason to hope. When we experience despair, it's so important to remember stories like this one -- because they don't end here. The story keeps going, such that the Psalm makes sense when it says that we wander through the valley of the shadow of death. We don't stay in it, and God is with us on the walk. We may not realize it at the time, but God is with us, and we are not lost in a place of despair. God leads us out of here into glory.
This doesn't always make the bottom easier, but it does allow us to hold onto hope and keep moving forward, trusting that these chapters of life do not come to stay. They come to pass, and God provides enough light so that we can keep moving forward.
