“Why so downcast, oh my soul?” asks the psalmist.
It’s one of those introspective questions that you ask yourself when you are trying to figure out what is going on in your spirit. When your mind won’t slow its’ busy cacophony of thoughts and sensory input, and your heart is heavy with hope deferred, it can be a challenge to discover what is going on in the space behind the face, as it were. Did you ever have a super day — where you were feeling good, had positive conversations and productive workflow — and suddenly, you get in your car and you get hit with a wave of depression or discouragement for no apparent reason? And then you are like, “Geez, where did this come from!?” Essentially, “why am I feeling downcast?” And other times you just have a pervasive underlying sadness that you cant shake. You put on your game face every day and muster a smile when needed, but you cant help but think that everyone must know you are faking it because you are sure not feeling it.
In the books of poetry in the scriptures, the psalmist David often wrote songs that dealt with feelings of discouragement and emotional struggles. He questions where God is, deals with his doubts, yet so often he returns to his faith in someone he can’t see, but in whom he has placed his trust. So we see in Psalm 42, David is feeling heavy and discouraged and this Psalm resonates with many because it is a feeling that so many of us deal with throughout our days. I thought I would paraphrase it.
Like a deer searches for a cool drink of water in a moving stream, so I too search for you God — for you are living water, and I am so thirsty. Every day I feel like my diet is tears and the whole time, people are hounding me — and adding insult to injury — by saying, “Where’s this God you are always talking about?”
Meanwhile, I am remembering how it used to be when I feel alive in the Spirit. I could feel the move of God every time I was in the House of Prayer, and I was surrounded by people who were worshipping, praising and thanking Him. There was so much tangible joy and it was truly a celebration. I don’t feel any of that right now and my heart is breaking.
Why am I discouraged? Why am I feeling this depression and sadness in my heart? I know that I have lost my focus, and if I fix my eyes back on God, and begin to praise Him for His amazing salvation, my perspective will change.
Even though I am pretty down and out, thinking about what used to be, I look around and see the distant mountains, the familiar river, and the hills and valleys of the land and I remember Your goodness. Even in the winds and waves of the raging sea, when I am swept away in the surge and feel lost, You are unfailing. You pour Your love over me constantly and every night I find myself singing songs of worship to You and praying to the One who gives me life.
Some days I get so tired of the fight. Some days I feel forgotten by God and it’s as if I am wandering around in grief. There are people who don’t like me – who mock me openly or behind my back. They laugh at my faith and that cuts me to the bone. They ask me where God is, and I wonder that same thing myself.
So again, I ask myself, “Why am I feeling depressed and discouraged? Why is my heart full of sadness? I turn my face to God and fully put my faith in Him. I let hope arise in my spirit. I offer prayers of praise and thanksgiving to the One who has given me salvation and life.
Self-inspection is important. Introspection is necessary. But it’s also significant to remember that when you are in the midst of feeling something deeply, to keep perspective. When you are feeling low, press pause for a moment. Look up and start to recall the blessings and celebrate the victories. Begin to thank God for the closest things to you — your life, breath, the incredible ability of your five senses. Thank Him for your friendships, your family, those around you who bless you. Thank Him for the privilege of the material blessings that you take for granted every day — hot water showers, air conditioning, a car to drive, the amazing plenty that surrounds you. Once you start down the road of thankfulness, it’s amazing how quickly your attitude can shift from sadness to contentment to joy. The Lord is good. He created us to experience a wide range of emotion, including sadness, and it’s all part of learning to live a stable, honest, and joyful life.
So true. I remember as a kid learning to start with thankfulness, which then turns to praise, out of which worship is a natural next step. Whenever I forget the first step the rest feels forced.
I definitely concur! It seems as if I lose focus at times and feel downcast. Often times I am saddened by those around me, or those all around the world who do not know God. But then in times of my own discouragement or disobedience; I remember that I need the continual spring of water that Christ brings just as much as those who do not know Him. I forget the good news, and I stop resting in Him and communing with Him, and I focus far to much on material things and idolatry. I think it is so easy to be “depressed” when we are not walking by the Spirit.
We can’t let the gospel become old news, and in times like this we ought to let Christ compel us to act righteously and to have faith.