Day: April 13, 2024

Old Testament Reading:  Deuteronomy 33-34 

*Poetry Reading:  Psalm 42

New Testament Reading:  Romans 13

You’ve had the opportunity to read Psalm 42 for the last few days and maybe you have some ideas of why God included this in His Word to us. 

One commentary titled this Psalm as “Honest prayer from a discouraged saint” (Enduring Word).  You can see that the Psalmist was discouraged when writing these verses:  “My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, ‘Where is your God?’” (3).  “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” (5a).  “As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, ‘Where is your God?’” (10).

Satan taunts us, trying to make us doubt God’s goodness and His omnipresence.  His ploy works far too often.  We look at this world and see the sorrow, stress, and sinfulness that is everywhere and it is easy to become discouraged and to doubt. 

The Psalmist recognizes that he is feeling cast down and in turmoil.  He brings those feelings to God in verse 9a, “I say to God, my rock: ‘Why have you forgotten me?’”.  While he honestly tells God he’s feeling forgotten by Him, he still has confidence in Him and shows that in calling him “God, my rock”.  God can handle our honest outpouring of emotions – even the really big, overwhelming ones! 

The Psalmist responds to these feelings by remembering a time of praising God (4), telling himself he will praise Him again (5, 11), recalling God’s love (8), and telling himself to hope in God (5, 11).  Rather than dwelling on what is wrong, he chooses to believe what he knows to be true and to hope in that.  He knows God is trustworthy and able to save.  Even when he doesn’t feel it. 

Feelings are fickle.  They come and go; swing up and down.  Feelings are not dependable.  But they are real.  The evil in this world is also real.  And we can become discouraged just like the Psalmist did.  God wanted us to have an example of how to handle these feelings.  And to ultimately choose to hope in Him.

Amy Blanchard

Reflection Questions

1. Are you discouraged?  Why – what is making you feel that way?  Tell God about it.  Then take some time to counter that feeling with a reminder that God is always with you and will always love you.   There is hope!
2. For all living things, water means life or death.  This Psalm begins with a word picture of a deer panting for water.  It brings to mind a desperation – in this picture, a desperation of being thirsty and needing water to survive.  Then he says that just like that deer, his soul thirsts for God and he asks when he shall appear before God.  Again, reflecting a desperation, this time not for water, but for fellowship with God.  Have you ever been desperate for a closeness with God?  I find that the more time I spend with Him, the more I crave that connection.  If God seems distant to you, try spending some quality time with Him.