“Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.“
Have you ever had to give yourself a pep talk?
Maybe before a difficult conversation or an important meeting. Perhaps you were walking into the hospital to visit someone you love.
Sometimes we have to remind ourselves of what we already know.
That is exactly what the writer of Psalm 42 does.
He asks himself,
“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?”
Then he answers his own question:
“Hope in God.”
The psalmist isn’t pretending everything is fine. In fact, earlier in the psalm he says his tears have been his food day and night. He remembers happier days when he joined God’s people in worship, but those memories only make his present situation more painful.
Yet instead of allowing dispair to have the final word, he speaks God’s truth to himself.
That’s an important lesson.
Our feelings are real, but they are not always reliable guides. They are just as corrupted by sin as our minds and bodies. There are days when fear tells us God has abandoned us or grief whispers that nothing will ever change. There are days when anxiety convinces us the future is hopeless and there’s no escape.
On those days, we need something outside of ourselves.
We need God’s promises.
During the Protestant Reformation, there were times when Martin Luther became deeply discouraged by the opposition he faced. His friend and fellow reformer, Philip Melanchthon, was often anxious as well. Luther would remind him,
“Let us sing the forty-sixth Psalm,”
turning his friend’s attention away from fear and back to God’s promises.
Christians have been doing that for centuries. It’s one of the beauties of the Christ’s church.
When our hearts are troubled, we return to God’s Word. We remind one another of what is true, even when our emotions tell us otherwise.
And what is true?
The circumstances that troubled the writer of Psalm 42 did not change overnight.
But his hope did not depend on his circumstances.
It depended on God.
And so does ours.
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father,
There are days when my heart is discouraged and my faith feels weak. Lift my eyes from my circumstances to Your promises. Fill me with hope through Your Word, and remind me that because of Jesus, I have every reason to trust You.
Amen.
As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:
After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
