Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him. For the help of His countenance. (Psalm 42:5, 11)
God’s love moves us to believe that God will see us through the worst of times. Let’s see how the power of hope worked in the believer who wrote Psalm 42.
The psalmist seems to be a believer in exile, perhaps a prisoner of war in a strange land.
Is he being punished by God? Maybe, but we can’t be sure. Maybe it’s just one of the tragic
consequences of living in a world in which innocent people often suffer as a result of the decisions, right or wrong, of other people.
How is the psalmist doing? He is often lonely, anxious, and depressed. He longs to be back among his people and in his homeland, worshiping God “with shouts of joy and thanksgiving.”
But here he is, an outcast mocked by his enemies, who say to him all day long, “Where is your God?”
What does this believer do to lift his spirit from the pit of despair? Again and again the
psalmist says to his soul: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
Dear friend, no matter what you are going through, keep on putting your hope in this great truth: Nothing in all creation – not even death – “will be able to separate (you) from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).
Read Psalm 61:5-8:
My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your love that moves me to the hope that you will never leave or forsake me. I’m waiting for your deliverance and delight. I’ll not be put to shame.
Work through me to share this hope with the hopeless.