Downcast

I was rather glum yesterday -- the weight of the world on my shoulders.  At some point I heard in my spirit... "Why are you downcast, O my soul?"  I knew that came from a Psalm and the point was with God there is no need to be downcast.  I let the day go on and never stopped to look up the actual Psalm.  But this morning I did...

Ps. 42:5 & 11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.

and then I read on to verse 6...


My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember You....

There is the key to not being downcast...

remember WHO God is... WHAT He has done... WHAT He promises

That is the cure! Remember... Focus..... on God.

And it is a choice... we CHOOSE to Focus on Him and not our circumstances.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. Heb. 12:2a

Let us -- again, a choice. Something we are told to do (Let us) but not made to do... it is our choice. So when I am downcast, it is my choice to stay there! Whoa!


My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only He will release my feet from the snare.  Ps. 25:15

Where are your eyes today?

Psalm 41, 42, & 43

Written October 24, 2008 

In Psalm 41 David is surrounded by enemies – everyone, it seems, is against him, but he chooses to trust in the Lord…

v. 10 – 12 “But You, O Lord, have mercy on me, rouse me up …. My enemy does not triumph over me.  In my integrity You uphold me and set me in Your presence forever.”

To be in His presence forever – WOW! – what more could we want or need!

Psalm 42 begins with familiar verses often quoted and even found in songs.  I pray that I could say these words and mean them with all my heart…

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” (v.1)

I want to long for God… for time with Him… that way.

The remainder of Ps. 2 and even Ps. 43 basically show that the Psalmist is going through a time of difficulty and he reminds himself over and over to put his hope in the Lord and to praise Him.

Ps. 42:5-6 “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.  My soul is downcast within me; therefore, I will remember You from the lands of Jordan, the heights of Hermon – from Mt. Mizar.”

Isn’t that what we need to do when our soul is downcast?  We need to remember God…. focus on who He is and what He has done (and is doing)… take our eyes off our circumstances and put them on Him.

Ps. 42:11 and Ps. 43:5 repeat this encouragement…this reminder to hope in the Lord.

“Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”