“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted [in turmoil] within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God” (Psalm 42:3, 11; Psalm 43:5).
Dear Praying Friends:
When we feel low, it’s good to ask ourselves, “Why am I upset?” Sometimes it helps me to write down, briefly and not in much detail, the things that have occasioned my sadness, so I can, as it were, “get a handle” on them, clarify my thoughts and feelings, and present them to the Lord.
When we have done that, we need to “hope in God," trusting that he will once again enable us to praise him for his help.
Note: We can’t hope in others (Psalm 118:5-9), for they often fail us. Nor can we hope that God will bring the deliverance we want, at the time and in the way that we desire. No, we place our expectation entirely upon the Lord himself, his love, presence, his power, and his promise to cause all things to work together for our good as long as we love him.
This psalm, like all the others, points to Christ. He used these exact words as he faced the horrors of the coming Cross (Matthew 26:38; John 12:27). So, he knows how we feel! Furthermore, because of what he has done for us, we know that the Lord will always be with us and that, after our trials have done their work, he will raise us up to be with himself forever (1 Peter 1:13).
“The Lord Jesus Christ our hope” (1 Timothy 1:1).
Yours in our true hope,
Wright