Psalms 69:10
“When I wept and I fasted, that was to my reproach.”
What does Psalms 69:10 mean?
The psalmist is describing a painful irony: his genuine acts of spiritual devotion and mourning have somehow turned against him, becoming sources of shame rather than respect. Instead of his fasting and tears winning sympathy or recognition of his sincerity, others have used them as ammunition to mock or belittle him. This captures something many people experience in hard times, when vulnerability becomes a reason for others to judge rather than support. The psalmist is expressing real frustration that his broken heart and honest grief have been weaponized against him. Yet by naming this injustice in prayer, he's refusing to let it silence his lament, trusting that God sees the difference between his sincere sorrow and others' cruel dismissal of it.