“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:5 NIV)
Praise is how we feel our way out of the dark. Yes, when we are as low as the psalmist in this moment, praise is a decision and not a feeling, but that does not minimize it’s power. In fact, it may magnify it!
The psalmist is struggling to find current reasons to praise. His soul simply isn’t feeling it. So he looks back. He recalls God’s past performance record. He reminds himself of previous provisions and thus reinforces his soul for today’s trouble.
Sometimes it’s tough to see God in today’s twenty-four hours. It may be that we are standing too close, or that our vision is distorted through tears. Our Lord might be working just beyond our poor spiritual eyesight. But we can always look back and find evidence of His love and faithfulness in our story. We can identify moments where we knew that we knew He was present and for us. We borrow from those memories. We praise Him for His past performance record and we worship our way out of our current circumstances. He is faithful. He is the same today, yesterday and forever. If He was good to us before, He’ll be good to us again and we can go ahead and praise Him as though we see it now.
“My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the height of Hermon – from the Mount Mizar.” (Psalm 42:6 NIV)
Mount Carmel.
I believe God gives us emotional high points: lush, well-watered seasons and mountaintop moments to sustain us through the tough days, too. Such experiences can provide enough emotional and spiritual fuel to push through the dry and quiet times, if we’ll only develop the discipline of going back for refreshment. Revisit that mountain of transfiguration where Jesus became Lord to you. Mentally meander through the valley of His tangible presence. Let those memories burn brightly and rekindle your belief about a God who is with us every step of the way, whether we feel it or not.
“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:11 NIV)
Revisiting God’s past performance record is one of the ways we self-settle in moments of crisis. It’s a powerful tool to cultivate praise when our souls are struggling to engage.
Lord, help us learn to speak rightly to our soul when our feelings aren’t catching up with truth. May we reflect upon Your perfect record. Remind us of the times when we’ve felt close, understood and engaged with Your Spirit. Let us borrow from those memories and find strength for today. Amen.
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