Hoping in God

Life is hard. A loved one dies unexpectedly. A friendship turns sour. A job opportunity falls through. Finances are tighter than expected. It is easy (and normal) for difficult circumstances like these to cause us to lose hope in God, His plans, and His promises. When the future looks bleak, how are we to keep hope alive when life hurts?

A dear friend shared Psalm 42 with me during a very difficult time in my life when my hope in God was failing. In this passage, David records how he dealt with the same feeling of hopelessness. I would like to share it with you.

Psalm 42

{As the hart [deer] panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, o God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?} David uses the picture of a thirsty deer longing for water to illustrate how his soul was yearning for fellowship with God.

{My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, where is thy God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.} Tears are a natural response to adversity and difficult circumstances. David is baffled to the point of emotional distress at why he is experiencing the difficulties he is relating in this passage; he is also distraught at the cruel taunting of those asking him "where is your God now, David?"

{Why are thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.} David gives himself a bit of a spiritual pep talk in this verse. He reminds himself that God is worth putting his hope in, and he exhorts himself to praise God through the adversity and difficulty, even though he doesn't understand.

{O my God, my soul is cast down within me...Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows have gone over me.} David continues to express his normal feelings of distress and hopelessness.

{Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.} David reminds himself again of God's changeless, loving care for him as His child.

{I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God} Once again, David releases a natural, human response to adverse circumstances while his enemies continue to taunt him.

{Why are thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.} David closes this psalm with the same spiritual pep talk found earlier in the passage.

Life is hard; life hurts, but God is bigger than any circumstance we will ever face. Keep your hope firmly rooted in Him. His light breaks the darkness of hopelessness.