Secure Hope
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him…
(Psalm 42:5, NKJV)
We live very full lives, always with something to do, a place to visit, a call to make or even a message to write. The experiences of our lives and the expectations we hold of ourselves, lead to most of us living on a continuous trendmill with little time to rest if any. When I think of this, I am grateful for times and seasons which force us to change the gears of life. I recently marked some milestones in my life and looking back, there were mixed feelings, a sense that time is running out as I watch the year moving fast, yet there is still a lot more to do. Such reflections leave us either energized by the urgency to do what needs doing or they make us feel dis-empowered and disquieted. Watching our emotions, many recognize that there are times when for reasons that we cannot quickly identify, our hearts feel down and lethargic, without strength to pick up. It could be from the cares of the world, the lust of our flesh, the lust of our eyes or whatever else in our lives. Regardless of the cause of these emotions, our reference verse by David helps us to appreciate that we need to search deeper within ourselves. Beloved, the question of “why” is significant but of greater importance is what we do with it. The psalmist repeats this question to show us the reality of not only his experiences but our human exposure to these moments of disquiet (Psalm 42:11; Psalm 43:5).
David in his meditations of such moments chooses to focus on God as His strength and hope for the seasons ahead. He does not allow himself to dwell on the dis-empowerment he could feel, but he consciously chooses to hope in God. Brethren, this calls us to answer to the question on what we choose to focus on. What is going on around us could be difficult, but our hope has to remain in God, who alone promises never to leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8). When we look up to God, our hearts lighten up and our countenance changes as we lean on His strength. David knew that God always helped him when the cares of his heart were many and his heart needed comfort (Psalm 94:18-19). The confession of David could be our own as we seek God’s unfailing love for us. Apostle Paul prayed that the God of hope would fill us with joy and peace as we trust in Him (Romans 15:13). There is provision for our strength when we feel uneasy, the Holy Spirit draws us to find our hope and rest in God alone. It does not matter what we encounter, we can choose to encourage ourselves in the Lord like David did during a difficult lonely time of his life (1 Samuel 30:6-8). This particular reference underpins the fact that others could try to lift us up in the best way they know how, but the choice to come up is ours to make as we focus on God. Beloved, we have a duty to pick ourselves up, encouraging ourselves to look up and believe again for better. May the strength that we draw from the Lord be the same that we share with others in this journey of life.
Thoughts:
How have you handled moments of disquiet?
How have memoirs of such moments fed into your journey?
From where are you drawing strength?