King David knew that feeling. And he put it into words that still resonate with us today.

Psalm 31:15. "And my soul is greatly troubled (and you incline your ear), and you, Lord, until when?"

It's a cry of desperation, isn’t it? A plea from the depths of his being. But what does that "until when?" really mean?

Well, Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, sheds some light on this particular verse. In Midrash Tehillim 6, Rav Kahana offers a powerful analogy.

Imagine a patient, desperately ill, waiting for the doctor. Hours crawl by. Four hours…five hours…eight hours. The sun beats down, intensifying their suffering. Finally, the doctor arrives. And the patient, weak and weary, gasps, "If you had delayed a little longer, my soul would have departed!"

That's it, isn't it? That's the feeling!

Rav Kahana explains that this is precisely what David is expressing in the psalm. "And my soul is greatly troubled, and you, Lord, who are the doctor, I yearn for you to come to me."

Think about that. God as the ultimate healer. The one we turn to in our moments of deepest suffering. The one whose presence – whose arrival – can mean the difference between life and…well, not-life.

But there’s a catch, isn’t there? David isn't just passively waiting. He's actively yearning. He’s reaching out. He’s crying out, “Until when?” It's not a question of faith, but of raw, human endurance. How much longer can one soul bear such anguish?

The Midrash doesn't give us a neat, tied-up answer. It doesn't tell us exactly when God will arrive, or how He will heal. But it does remind us that even in our darkest moments, we are not alone in our pain. That yearning – that desperate plea – is heard.

And maybe, just maybe, the very act of reaching out, of voicing that "until when?", is a part of the healing process itself. It’s a recognition of our vulnerability, our dependence, and ultimately, our faith that even in the face of unbearable suffering, there is still a doctor who hears our call. A doctor who, in His own time, will come.