Psalm 42

There are times when a worshiper needs to have a good long talk with his own soul. The mind and heart of even a very godly man still need plenty of correction and redirection. This addressing of the soul is an important companion to a life of communion with God. We need to tell our souls to remember what we have learned from the Word and to trust in God as we turn away from lies.

This need is not only for people that live far away from the presence of God who have not yet developed the best habits of devotion and obedience. It is also and especially for those who have a strong desire for the Lord and for heaven. The man who loves the Lord the most can easily become especially discouraged with his life under the sun. He wants to be with God. His soul is thirsty for the living God. The worshiper who lives on the periphery of the Lord's congregation fits in better with a worldly world, ...that is until misery strikes too close to his own heart.

For the man who has found the Lord to be a very present help in a time of trouble and who has discovered the truth of the kingdom of heaven and tasted some of the blessings of the life to come, his longing for the Lord becomes like the thirst of an animal that is looking for a flowing stream somewhere so that he will not die. He is not satisfied with vague feelings of the presence of God. He wants to go where God is. He says this: “When shall I come and appear before God? When can I see His face?”

This is not just a spiritual curiosity. Some people are interested in all kinds of spiritual things, much the same way as people are history buffs or others are always ready to hear what is going on in the world of sports or entertainment. Someone like that thinks that spiritual experiences are his life, but only the way that a hobby is life to a person who is very intent on it. No, the experience of the person who has some reason to intensely long for God and for heaven is different. He has tears. He grieves about it. Even the biggest sports fans are not saying that their tears have fed them day and night while they waited for opening day. But the true worshiper is waiting for his ultimate opening day in heaven, and he grieves. He longs to be with God where God is.

Some people find this intensity of longing for the Lord and for heaven to be very unattractive, and there is no doubt that many people are showy and annoying with their faith. Yet a strong desire for God's eternal purposes to be accomplished can hardly be sinful. It is virtuous longing. Yet the problem with even the best virtues in a world of evil is that sin clings to them. That's why we need to talk to our souls about this. Setting your heart on things above is a virtue. Giving in to faithless depression about your life on earth is not. This temptation to unbelief or despondency is made worse when there are people around you who do not understand what the big deal is, and who see this as something to laugh at. If they say to you all day long, “Where is your God,” how do you take that?

Keep on praying to God, but you also need to talk to your soul. You might think that good memories of God's blessing and favor will help you through a rough time. If someone has suffered a great loss or is just very low, eventually good memories may feel good, but not necessarily today. Good memories can hurt... “I was at the front of the line as we walked toward heaven. People were shouting with joy and singing praise. But now those days are no more, and I feel so low.” The good memory alone does not heal the wound. It may make it feel worse.

You need a conversation with your soul. You need to be honest and say some things to your heart that only you can say. “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” That's a good start. You admit the truth, and you wonder why. Of course, you probably know why. You don't like God's providence for you. If you are Job, you don't like the disrespect that people are showing you. You don't appreciate the presumption that your tragedy is a sign of secret sin. You are in pain with a very debilitating medical condition, your wealth has been stolen or destroyed, all your children are gone, you don't know why all this is happening, you hate your life, and you can't decide whether you want God to come near to you so that you could talk this out with Him, or go far away from you so that you can have peace. That is why Job, a man who loved God and loved heaven, was so downcast.

That all may sound like a very negative list to consider, but it is an honest answer to the question, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” That is ot a bad place to start, but it is a very dismal place to finish. Here's where you want to head: 1. Hope in God, and then 2. I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

1. Hope in God. Job went as far as he could go in his honest reflections on his own life and the human condition, which is another way of talking about life in a world of death, or life where heaven has not yet fully arrived on earth. He needed a prophetic Word and a visit from the Almighty Himself to redirect him in a better way. When God comes at the end of the book, God talks about God. This is something that does not necessarily work if other people try to be God. When they talk about God, it may just be annoying. Either God must talk about God through His Word, or you need to have that serious talk with your own soul. “Soul, hope in God.” Be redirected.

2. I shall again praise him, my salvation (literally: the salvation of my face) and my God. Your face may need some salvation, but you don't want to wear a mask. You need help on the inside. You are headed toward the praise of God. Jesus faced trouble worse than Job to make this happen. He was brought low. A tsunami of divine justice broke on His sinless head. He felt abandoned by God, and His adversaries taunted Him. People who should have loved Him treated Him with the worst disrespect. He secured a place for you in the eternal praise of the Almighty. Because of Him, you will praise God again. Keep that in mind.