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.
My soul is cast down within me; therefore, I remember You from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep at the roar of Your waterfalls. All Your breakers and waves have gone over me. By day the Lord commands His steadfast love, and at night His song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. (vs. 5-8)
Ever encourage yourself? Have one of those interior pep talks? I do this all the time. I absolutely love closure and when I cannot get it in the moment, I talk it in my head. Or when I don't understand what God is doing? I go over all the positive (and sometimes negative) things that He might be up to. Then I rehearse His character and His promises so my heart and mind remember He is always good.
I had a conversation with one of my daughters yesterday about a disappointment in her life. It was interesting and rewarding to me to realize as we spoke that she had spent the previous twenty-four hours and a good long bike ride having just such an interior dialogue. Remembering the goodness of God and His provision at a time when it seemed He had taken from her an answered prayer within her grasp. That is spiritual maturity. To say yes to God's no.
The psalmist is far away from home - Jerusalem. He is north of the Sea of Galilee in the land of Jordan and Hermon. Don't know why he is there, but he misses going to the temple to meet his God. Life has dealt him some pretty deep waters. They have roared over him in noisy collision as they rushed over falls. They have buried him in the breakers of ocean waves. Overwhelmed and depressed, he longs to join his brothers and sisters in the praise processional at the Temple. First he compares himself to a deer panting for streams and now one having a hard time catching his breath in the smothering cascades of his life. So he has an inner discussion about his depression.
Soul, what is wrong with you? Why can't you get it together? I am sick at my stomach because I don't know how all of this will turn out. I wish I knew that God heard me......
Soul. Soul! What are you saying? Trust in God!! He has never failed you and He never will! He knows things you do not know. You will praise Him again when you see the outcome of all of this.
I am about to lose hope. I have no idea what God is doing here and it looks like He doesn't even care about me. How long am I going to feel so overwhelmed and desperate?
Remember!! Remember, Soul! Hope in God. He is your salvation! Remember the verse in I John 3? "He is greater than our hearts and He knows everything."
Self-encouragement. When we went to the beach with the we kids, we taught them to sit down in the waves if they looked too big for them. The waves roll over them instead of the kids rolling around in the waves. It works. And that is what the psalmist ultimately tells himself to do. He pauses and calms down to think the truth - that God's steadfast love has him covered. Day and night the Lord is with him, even singing to him. But he has to be still to hear it. Deep calling to deep. I know that is about roaring calling to roaring as the water below is hit with the water above - but that is a picture of us.
Past self-talk is God speaking to us in our situation as well as His ability to speak to our circumstance. The waves and breakers have gone over him, not taken him away in their swirling. In our most desperate hour, we might just have our most important opportunity to understand the depths of His love. To remind ourselves Who God is in the tabernacle and in the deep waters.
My soul is cast down within me; therefore, I remember You from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep at the roar of Your waterfalls. All Your breakers and waves have gone over me. By day the Lord commands His steadfast love, and at night His song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. (vs. 5-8)
Ever encourage yourself? Have one of those interior pep talks? I do this all the time. I absolutely love closure and when I cannot get it in the moment, I talk it in my head. Or when I don't understand what God is doing? I go over all the positive (and sometimes negative) things that He might be up to. Then I rehearse His character and His promises so my heart and mind remember He is always good.
I had a conversation with one of my daughters yesterday about a disappointment in her life. It was interesting and rewarding to me to realize as we spoke that she had spent the previous twenty-four hours and a good long bike ride having just such an interior dialogue. Remembering the goodness of God and His provision at a time when it seemed He had taken from her an answered prayer within her grasp. That is spiritual maturity. To say yes to God's no.
The psalmist is far away from home - Jerusalem. He is north of the Sea of Galilee in the land of Jordan and Hermon. Don't know why he is there, but he misses going to the temple to meet his God. Life has dealt him some pretty deep waters. They have roared over him in noisy collision as they rushed over falls. They have buried him in the breakers of ocean waves. Overwhelmed and depressed, he longs to join his brothers and sisters in the praise processional at the Temple. First he compares himself to a deer panting for streams and now one having a hard time catching his breath in the smothering cascades of his life. So he has an inner discussion about his depression.
Soul, what is wrong with you? Why can't you get it together? I am sick at my stomach because I don't know how all of this will turn out. I wish I knew that God heard me......
Soul. Soul! What are you saying? Trust in God!! He has never failed you and He never will! He knows things you do not know. You will praise Him again when you see the outcome of all of this.
I am about to lose hope. I have no idea what God is doing here and it looks like He doesn't even care about me. How long am I going to feel so overwhelmed and desperate?
Remember!! Remember, Soul! Hope in God. He is your salvation! Remember the verse in I John 3? "He is greater than our hearts and He knows everything."
Self-encouragement. When we went to the beach with the we kids, we taught them to sit down in the waves if they looked too big for them. The waves roll over them instead of the kids rolling around in the waves. It works. And that is what the psalmist ultimately tells himself to do. He pauses and calms down to think the truth - that God's steadfast love has him covered. Day and night the Lord is with him, even singing to him. But he has to be still to hear it. Deep calling to deep. I know that is about roaring calling to roaring as the water below is hit with the water above - but that is a picture of us.
Past self-talk is God speaking to us in our situation as well as His ability to speak to our circumstance. The waves and breakers have gone over him, not taken him away in their swirling. In our most desperate hour, we might just have our most important opportunity to understand the depths of His love. To remind ourselves Who God is in the tabernacle and in the deep waters.
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