PSALM 42

As a deer longs for flowing streams,

so I long for You, God.

I thirst for God, the living God.

When can I come

and appear before God?

My tears have been my food

day and night,

while all day long people say to me,

“Where is your God?”

I remember this

as I pour out my heart:

how I walked with many,

leading the festive procession

to the house of God,

with joyful and thankful shouts.

Why, my soul,

are you so dejected?

Why are you in such turmoil?

Put your hope in God,

for I will still praise Him,

my Savior and my God.

I am deeply depressed;

therefore I remember You

from the land of Jordan

and the peaks of Hermon,

from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep

in the roar of Your waterfalls;

all Your breakers and Your billows have swept over me.

The Lord will send

His faithful love by day;

His song will be

with me in the night—

a prayer to the God of my life.

I will say to God, my rock,

“Why have You forgotten me?

Why must I go about

in sorrow because of

the enemy’s oppression?”

My adversaries taunt me,

as if crushing my bones,

while all day long

they say to me,

“Where is your God?”

Why, my soul,

are you so dejected?

Why are you in such turmoil?

Put your hope in God,

for I will still praise Him,

my Savior and my God.

PSALM 42

HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN?

God, things have gotten so dim. The world around me feels two shades darker, like you turned down the light in the room. I am depressed, so low. Are you there? Can you hear me? Have you forgotten me? Where are you when my world turns grey?

Heart, lift yourself up to God. He is light. He is light. Hope once more.

God, why do you stand so far away? Life feels upside down and confusing. I don’t see a clear path forward. Everything has broken, nothing as it was. Where are you when the ground shifts?

Heart, lift yourself up to God. He is steady. He is steady. Hope once more.

God, do you want to walk away too? Am I easy to leave? Easy to replace? Will you always be here, or does our relationship have an expiration date? Where are you when the chair beside me is empty?

Heart, lift yourself up to God. He is near. He is near. Hope once more.

Am I really graven on your hands? Even if they forget, will you really never? Am I truly ever before you? Do you know when I sit, when I rise? Will you never leave, never forsake, never give up?

Heart, lift yourself up to God. He is true. He is true. Hope once more.

“Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…”
Isaiah 49:16

Hope once more.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Are you walking through a season of spiritual depression? (Does God seem distant? Does the world seem two shades darker? Are you struggling to feel hopeful?)

I’m what area of your life are you asking, God have you forgotten me? (Be honest before the Lord. Pinpoint places that you feel like He’s abandoned you.)

Why do you think it’s important to speak to your heart instead of listening to it? (Martin Lloyd-Jones said, “Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. . . . Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, “Self, listen for a moment. I will speak to you.”)

What truths can you speak to your heart today to spark fresh hope? (Spend time in God’s Word highlighting, writing, memorizing verses that spur hope in your heart. Cling to the promises and “I WILLs” of God when all else feels dim. Text a friend and ask them to share a hopeful verse with you. Listen to worship music or a helpful sermon—may we suggest John Piper’s Spiritual Depression in the Psalms.)

I HAVE GRAVEN THEE

"I have graven thee." It does not say, "Thy name." The name is there, but that is not all: "I have graven thee." See the fullness of this! I have graven thy person, thine image, thy case, thy circumstances, thy sins, thy temptations, thy weaknesses, thy wants, thy works; I have graven thee, everything about thee, all that concerns thee; I have put thee altogether there. Wilt thou ever say again that thy God hath forsaken thee when he has graven thee upon his own palms?

—Charles Spurgeon

LAMENT RESOURCE NO. 5

Our resource this week is a new one for me. I’ve just finished reading Michael Card’s A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God In the Lost Language of Lament and cannot recommend it more highly to you. This is one of those books that sticks to your heart as you read and you know the lessons you’ve learned will stay with you throughout your lifetime.

Michael Card writes in a poetic and lush style as he works through the premise that all lament is tied to Hesed (there’s our word again!)—the steadfast love of the Lord. He examines the laments of Job, David, Jeremiah and ultimately Jesus. This is a gospel-centered, hope filled book. You will learn more about Hesed and how lament is one of the greatest acts of faith a Christian could undertake. It’s powerful and we hope you will read it.

Have you already read A Sacred Sorrow? We would love to hear your thoughts!

FOR NEXT WEEK

We would encourage you to have a read through Job 19 to prepare for next week. We will be asking the question, God, haven’t I suffered enough? Take note of the four stages of Biblical lament: turning to God, voicing a complaint, asking God to act and resolving to trust. Spend time praying, meditating on and memorizing the verses. We look forward to looking at this passage together next week! See you Monday…

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