Never Forsaken

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. (Ps 42:5)

The psalmist speaks of a time of trouble in his life, when tears are many and God seems far (v3). In the midst of his despondency, the psalmist reminds himself of the hope we have in God. Indeed, his longing for God has never seemed stronger (v1-2). The very distance he feels from God strengthens that longing.

But there is hope! Even as he wonders why God seems to have forgotten him (v9), his faith is strong. Times of refreshing will come again. What the psalmist recognizes is that his feelings of rejection and abandonment do not reflect the way things really are. God is present. God will save. Despair will give way to joy, and praise will once again flow freely from his heart.

It is natural for us to feel down when times are hard. But we must never forget that faith is not based on feelings, but on what we know of the character and constancy of God. He never leaves us. He never changes. I will put my hope in God.