Psalm 42

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul thirsts for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your god?" These things I remember as I pour out my soul; how I used to speak to the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. 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 land of Jordan, the heights of Hermon- from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls, all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me- a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by my enemy?" My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, "Where is your God?" 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.

I just love this beautiful Psalm. I think I like it because it is a good example of my up and down prayers that I pray and the psalmists honesty before the Lord. It seems as if just when we get to the point where we truly desire God and long for Him, enemies creep up and cause us to question even the existence of God much less that He cares about little old me! Satan and unbelievers cause us to question God because they can target areas where God hasn't really done what I've wanted Him to do. So, this area is already weak and they seem to push in on it. When (not if) this happens we take the focus off of who God is and what He HAS done and instead look at areas that cause us to doubt the goodness of God.

I also think the psalmist shows a great example of preaching to yourself when you feel attacked and your soul is downcast within. Even to pause and ask why my soul feels downcast will cause me to get to the root of things and then once I do, I'll be able to effectively preach to myself who God is and remember ALL that He has done!

This psalm confirms that this the thirst we have in this life is real, the longing is there and it is a fight to go to the Everlasting One to quench our thirst instead of to quick fixes like success, relationships, and many other things we look to in this life.