Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again- my Savior and my God! Psalm 42: 11, NLT.
Heavenly Father, Thank You so much for being willing to teach us wonderful things out of Your Word. We know that we will be revived when we come to the end of our study today. In the name of Jesus we humbly pray, and give You thanks. Amen.
As we said in our closing comments yesterday, in the days ahead we will watch as the psalmist wrestles with the see-saw effect of encouraged, discouraged, encouraged again, discouraged again! If we have blood running through our veins, we can relate to this. Everyday is not smooth sailing! I am talking about Christians, as well as non-Christians. Life is not a bed of roses. “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise [H]im again- my Savior and my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember [Y]ou- even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar. I hear the tumult of the raging seas as [Y]our waves and surging tides sweep over me” (Psalm 42: 5-7, NLT).
The psalmist begins to question the reason for his discouragement. Have any of you been there? Have you ever felt discouraged, then looked around you and began counting the many times God delivered you from problem after problem; and then asked yourself the question: “Why am I discouraged? I know that God is taking care of me! Why am I worried over this situation? Don’t I know from past experience that God is going to bring me through this, as He has on other occasions?” I have been through this self-searching exercise on several occasions. You would believe that at this time in my journey, I would have it “all together;” that nothing could really bother me. Unfortunately, I am not there, yet. But, “I press on toward the goal…” (Philippians 3: 14).
Sometimes, remembering the way the LORD has “brought us through” in the past, helps to “lift us up” and keep us up. At other times, you may feel a momentary lift, and then fall deeper into discouragement than You were before. Apparently, this is what has happened to the psalmist. Listen to how he emphatically describes the depth of his discouragement, “Now I am deeply discouraged…” Perhaps that is the reason why our little “pep talks” do not always work! At times I believe that as Christians we treat the cares of life in an over-simplified manner! But life is not simple, and people appreciate when we give their concerns the importance they deserve! When the psalmist has had his opportunity to “sulk” a little, he is now ready to stick to Paul’s “Think on these things,” list; “… but I will remember [Y]ou! Yes! I choose, by the grace of God, to let my mind rest on the goodness of the LORD, in spite of the turmoil that I am experiencing!
In Scripture, waters usually depict chaos. In his state of mind, the psalmist most likely feels overwhelmed and confused by all that is happening in his life. It is interesting that he should mention the Jordan. I can think of at least two reasons: one of the main ways in which the Jordan river is fed, is from the snow that melts from off of Mount Hermon, and flows into its banks; therefore, the allegory of the “raging seas” sweeping over him, is quite relevant. The other reason is the fact that it was the Levites who went ahead of the people when they crossed the Jordan River to enter Canaan. It may be, he will find strength in remembering how God carried them over the Jordan in a miraculous way. Surely, He can deliver his soul from the waters of discouragement!
We will continue tomorrow.