Oh, how I love the Psalms! This morning as I sit on my patio with my Bible open to the 42nd Psalm, and a cup of coffee next to me, I realize how much I need this truth on this Monday morning
David is in trouble and is in a spiritual drought. When I read, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the Living God”, I hear the anguish and need in the Psalmist’s soul. He is in deep grief. He longs for the cooling waters of blessing in a very dry place. This, in a strange way, encourages me. It tells me I’m not the only person to feel the drought that is sometimes part of my life, the thirst that can’t be quenched.
There are many different losses in life. David is grieving loss of life as it was before and life as it was for him then. Here, he is remembering a time of spiritual blessing, when he served God with joy and “easy” thanksgiving. It’s so simple to trust and sing when things are as they should be (or at least how we think they should be) and more challenging when they aren’t. I hear heartbreak in his cry to the Father.
Then, the once-Shepherd-boy, the one who had killed a giant with a single rock in a slingshot, did what I like to think was a little “self-talk”. He asked himself why he was in despair and troubled, disturbed. He remembered a happier time and longed for it. He recognized his present situation and was afraid, but he also remembered Who God was. He claimed he would again praise Him.
I am once again reminded that our faith may be solid yet sometimes the sorrow and circumstances we face can overwhelm us to the point we feel like we are going under for the third time. Deep calls to deep and the waters of loss threaten to drown us. Waves roll over us, but in the throes of our agony, we can have the confidence of David. He recalled the covenant God had made with him. He recognized His lovingkindness in the morning and His song in the night. He believed in the One who been faithful all of his life. He knew he wouldn’t drown.
The Psalmist closes with deep trust, confident hope, and a willingness to wait on God. I love how he changes up his “self-talk” when he says, “…I will again YET praise Him.” He knew the truth that God was with him. He knew He would never leave him.
In the parched land we sometimes walk through, we, too, can hope because we will again yet praise Him. We will.
This is one of my favorite verses:
” When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.” Isaiah 43:2
This is one of my favorite songs
Oceans (by Hillsong United)
“You call me out upon the waters, the great unknown, where feet may fail. There I find you in the mystery, in waters deep my faith shall stand.
And I will call upon Your Name, and keep my eyes above the waves. When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace, for I am yours and You are mine.
Your grace abounds in deepest waters, Your sovereign hand will be my guide. Where feet may fail and fear surround me, You’ve never failed, and You won’t start now.
Spirit lead me where my faith is without borders, when I walk upon the waters wherever You may call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, and my faith will be made stronger, in the presence of my Savior.
And I will call upon Your Name, and keep my eyes above the waves. When oceans rise, my souls rests in Your embrace, for I am Yours and You are mine.”
From My Heart 