Psalm 42 and 43
Psalm 42- What's it all about? Well, I think it's about yearning for God in the midst of distress.
The writer is discouraged because people are asking " where is this God of yours?'
He continually goes over why does he seem to have lost his fervour.
God hasn't changed, he says, Yahweh promises to love me all day, my life is God's prayer. He is asking God why has He let him down, whilst recognising he just needs to fix his eyes on God. God is calling him from the depth of His heart to the writer's heart because he sees the depth of his heart to the depth of the writer's thirst for God. Deep was calling to deep. He doesn't seem to recognise the omnipresence of God. Yet he is being drawn back into the depth of worship. He understands that God is pouring His unfailing love on him, and realising God is the one who gives him life.
He has to choose to live a life of disciplined obedience as God's servant.
Like him, we have to choose to believe that The Lord will never forsake us when we trust Him!
Psalm 42 is about yearning for God, really yearning for Him; a thirst for God. It paints a picture of someone who longs to be close to God. It's about making God the only object of our desires.
We need to realise that only God can satisfy our deepest needs.
The writer Is heartbroken as he remembers his past relationship with God, and now he is discouraged. He asks himself, ' why so sad? Then, I will put my hope in God. I will remember your kindness. I hear the tumult in the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. Through each day The Lord pours His unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing His songs, praying to God who gives me life.... Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God. I will praise Him again - my Saviour and my God! Look how the psalmist improved his conscious contact with God. He talked to himself, commanding his emotions to ' hope in God'. He repeated, ' I will praise Him again'. Even though he didn't feel like it at the time, in the dark times he sang songs, thought about God's steadfast love, and prayed. We can do these things too!
Psalm 43 is very akin to Psalm 42.because it is about praying to God in times of trouble. It is saying, ' send out your light and your truth, let them lead me.
Then why is my soul cast down, my hope is in God, and I will praise Him.
We must learn as the Psalmist did to find strength by reading God's word, really reading God's word, and allowing Him to restore our joy. As our relationship with God grows stronger, we will become the means for reconciling our broken relationships.
There is an old hymn, which I am sure you know, " when upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what The Lord has done'.
Jesus is there in His amazing love reaching out to you with the depth of His love in the depth of your despair. Take His hand, let Him bring you in.
We have an anchor, that keeps the soul steadfast, and sure while the billows role. Fastened to the rock which cannot move, grounded firm and deep in the Saviour's love.
When storms around are sweeping God is our refuge, He is our strength, He is our all, He never leaves us or forsakes us. Take His hand. Put your hand in the hand of the one who stilled the water. You will never regret it! You will find healing and wholeness, a life renewed and restored. A life of blessing as you put your trust in the one who gave you life"
There are many people in the Bible who have done just that. Luke 18 v 1-3 tells us that as Jesus travelled on his journeys preaching and teaching the disciples were with Him as we're some women who had been healed by Jesus of various evil afflictions. One of them was Mary who came from the place called Magdala in Galilee. These women were some of the people who travelled with them providing for their needs.
The one, Mary, had been enslaved by seven evil demons which Jesus released her from. We may not need to be released from demons but we all need to be released from the wrong things that control our lives. Mary Magdalene became a shining example of a life filled with gratitude and loyalty to Jesus. She was an early follower of Jesus and her life was dramatically changed when Jesus released her from the demons. From the depth of Jesus heart He recognised the deep need that Mary had. During the crucifixion, when the disciples were not to be found, she was one of the courageous ones to stay at the cross. Imagine doing that!
We may identify with Mary, either as a woman or as one who has been delivered from bondage of one sort or another. Although she was an outcast of society her desire for healing and her trusting obedience to Jesus, she became a significant person in the history of the world. Her life gives us the courage to come boldly before God, knowing that His love extends to all of us, regardless of our situation, He specialises in tough cases. There is nothing in our lives that He cannot renew. We have only to ask Him.
There is an old hymn written in the early 1800s. Jesus calls us o'er the tumult of our lives wild restless sea. Day by day His sweet voice sounds saying Christian, follow Me! What is Jesus calling you to do, or give up or face Him with? Let's spend some moments quietly listening to what He has to say to each one of us personally.
Irene 4/10/21