Many Christians are familiar with this verse in psalms 42: “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God…” (v.1). But how that Psalm ends is not often talked about. Verse 11 says “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.” This statement is the verbatim echo of verse 5. The Psalmist (a worshipper among the men of Korah — musicians appointed by King David to protect and sing over the re-established Ark of The Covenant) is not singing about how they started out desperate for God, as a deer pants for water, to deliver them from their exhausting depression and then by the end of it everything is fixed. The heart journey of this Psalmist is that of feeling so deep in despair that they cannot eat; they feel like they’re eating their tears for food (v.3). They feel so distant fron God in their dark pit of anguish that it’s as if they are being punished, swallowed up by endless roaring waves (v.7). The Psalmist is being spiritually attacked and under the weight of that oppression he feels like God has forgotten him (v.9). But amidst these lamentations, there is also hope and promises remembered. Verse 6: “My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.” The Psalmist fixes his mind on the truth that God is Mighty. Verse 8: “By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.”He fixes his mind on the truth that God’s presence and love is always with him. In the trenches of sorrow, the Psalmist does something that we too should practice — fixing our minds on God, Christ, and speaking truth to ourselves.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones, 19th century preacher, wrote a wonderful book called “Spiritual Depression”. One of the “aha!” moments in that book was that we spend a great deal of time speaking negatively to ourselves or letting negative thoughts have free reign in our minds when we ought to be countering those lies with God’s truth and promises. May we always remember our magnificent Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ and The Gospel. When we are in the depths of a season of depression, we often try to pull ourselves out of it by doing things to get through that valley sooner than later so we can move onto getting on with our joyful, confident, peace filled Christian lives. Although that is a good desire, what we must understand is that God is sovereign and God is always with us. If you are still in that season, God is allowing it to do a good work in you for your benefit and His glory. He may want you to remember that the Almighty, all-powerful Creator of the Universe is also with you in the trench, gentle and lowly, because of Christ’s finished work on The Cross. He may want you to rest in Him and learn how to focus on His goodness in a more intentional way. There are a number of reasons why you are kept in this season with seemingly no end to the suffering. But Jesus loves you unconditionally with a fierceness and perfection of grace and a permanence that our human minds cannot fathom. May we always remember our magnificent Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ, preach The Gospel to ourselves in times of deep sorrow, be still and know that He is GOD.
Questions to ask yourself:
- Have you been looking to yourself or to Jesus to quench the thirst of your spiritual dryness?
- What are some ways you can counter the lies you’ve been believing about yourself or your situation? What Bible verses will you look to?
Pray:
O my Lord, my soul longs to be filled and I am sorry that I have made it about the things of this world when it should be all about you. I receive your peace, your comfort, you joy. Right now, I am reminding myself of the security I have in you, the accessibility of you, the Holiest of Holy who loves me in one moment more than anyone else could in a lifetime. I remember that I was created for you and so the things my soul longs for can only be filled by you. Help me to be more aware of your presence in my life. Quench my thirst, Lord, and anchor my soul in your goodness. In Jesus’s name, amen.