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In the midst of the health and economic turmoil that is in the world today, I woke up this morning anxious and in distress. I am in virtual exile from my brothers and sisters in Christ and from my coworkers. So, in my quite time I cried out to the Lord to speak to me… I need to sense his presence more than ever. As I prayed, the Lord directed me to Psalm 42 (and 43) for today is 4-2. He lifted me up with the exact words I need to hear right now: hope in God!
In Psalms 42-43 the psalter longs for God to come to his aid during a time when he can’t sense God’s presence. He is exhausted and spent―his soul thirsts and hungers for the life-giving, life-sustaining living God (Psa 42.1-2). Yet God is nowhere to be found. He felt he is in this crisis all alone as these accusatory words taunting and mocking him, “Where is your God?”
The psalter’s memory of the past only brought sorrow in his present condition (Psa 42.4). His soul (his emotional state) is downcast―he is depressed and in despair, and feels hopeless. Yet his mind (his intellectual state) reminds him of God’s steadfast love, comfort and security that he experienced in the past. Remembering life in the past only brings sorrow for today; but remembering God’s character and his works in the past brings hope for now and beyond. He is a promise-making and promise-keeping God, and he has promised to never leave me nor forsake me. And that is why he is praiseworthy.
The psalter’s present situation seems bleak and hopeless―he feels he’s drowning under the crushing weight of the storm, unable to breathe. He is overwhelmed without relief in sight. In spite of his feeling of loneliness and despair, he experientially knows through prayers, God will faithfully sustain him through the day and comfort him through the dark nights (Psa 42.8). Therefore, I will not allow my fears of the present to rule over my soul. This is not some sort of cavalier claim or empty hope on the unknown; rather, it is a hope built on my trust and confidence in God’s character, in who he is. Of all the “Why?” and “Where?” and “How?” questions asked by the psalmist, the most important (and implied) question is the “Who?” question: Who is God?
So, who is God in these two psalms (they are one psalm in the Hebrew Bible)? God is:
- He is the living God who gives and sustains life (42.2)
- He is my salvation (42.5)
- He is a faithful and compassionate God (42.8)
- He is my fortress and my safe place (42.9; 43.2)
- He is my defender (43.1)
- He is light and gives light, i.e., understanding (43.3)
- He is truth and what he says is true (43.3)
- He is my guide who brings me safely from exile (43.3)
Because he is all these things and more, I have hope in him!
So, what am I to do during a crisis to see God at work? I am to:
- Pursue God relationally (42.1-2)
- Remember God’s deliverance in the past trials and that he does not change (42.4)
- Hope (have confidence) in God that he has promised to come through for me and sustain me just as he promised (42.5)
- Pray for his faithfulness and compassion to sustain me through the difficult day and frightful nights (42.8)
- Pray for his defense against false accusers―those who taunt cast doubt about God’s character, i.e., my mind of the flesh and the enemy (43.1)
- Pray for understanding (light) of His Word (truth) so I can walk in confidence as he guides me in navigating the treacherous terrain (43.3)
- Praise God when he shows up and when I get to the other side of this present troubles (43.4)
As the Apostle Paul tells us, this is a constant battle of the mind: the trust in a faithful God (what I cannot see) versus the fears of the flesh (what I fix my eyes on). There are days when the flesh wins, but there are also days when his grace is sufficient for me. Regardless of the present circumstance and my mental and emotional state, I will hope in God and in his character, for he alone is praiseworthy.
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