"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."
~Psalm 42:11 (ESV)
Before us lies a glorious statement of the hope we have in Christ amidst any storm, situation, or rut of spiritual starvation. The Psalmist has spent seemingly endless time weeping in turmoil. This chapter is filled with statements of panting (verse 1), a thristy soul (verse 2a), longing to see God (verse 2b), abundant tears (verse 3a), taunting from the unbelieving to question the goodness of God (verses3b and 10), a soul poured out before God (verse 4a), a downcast soul in turmoil (verses 5 and 11), a feeling of having been forgotten (verse 9a), mourning (verse 9b), the presence of those not for him but against him (verse 10).
This is a real, true, and intense desert. Have you not been there? Are you there now? We do not have a God Who cannot relate to our deserts, whatever they might be. Instead, we have a High Priest (Christ) Who "in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). And because of Him, we can follow the Psalmist who, in every passage of trying he wrote, always circles back to the hope we find in Who God is. He will never leave you, and that's His promise (Joshua 1:5). Listen; absorb; find hope in the character and Being of God:
"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.
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."
~Psalm 7-8, 11 (ESV)
1 comment:
When I was a brand new Christian, full of joy and enthusiasm, one of the most important things that I was taught at the very beginning was that I wouldn't always be on the "mountain top" in my Christian life, that there would be dry "desert times" and valleys. At the time I was wondering why in the world are they telling me that?! I'm so happy in the Lord and I'll never come down...but I did come down from my spiritual mountain top. It didn't take me by surprise, however, because I had been told it would happen. At those times you just lean on the Lord that much more, even though He seems far. You have faith that God is leading you, and that's the kind of faith He wants to see in us, the kind that trusts Him even though we aren't sure where He is taking us.
I like this Gaelic prayer:
As the rain hides the stars, as the autumn mist hides the hills, as the clouds veil the blue of the sky, so the dark happenings of my lot hide the shining of Your face from me. Yet, if I may hold Your hand in the darkness it is enough. Since I know that, though I may stumble in my going, You do not fall.
It is so sweet to trust in Jesus!
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