Why I Am Discouraged? Why Is My Heart So Sad? I Will Put My Trust In God.
I Will Strengthen Myself
PSALM 42:5-6
“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me; Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, And from the heights of Hermon, From the Hill Mizar.
”Psalms 42:5-6 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.42.5-6.NKJ
Anxiety/ depression is one of the most common emotional ailments that drags people down into deep sadness.
In the UK alone, there are about 3 million people with anxiety/ depression as their primary problem, and a further 3 million with an anxiety disorder, and that number is rapidly growing.
Psalm 42:5-6 encourages believers to actively preach hope to themselves during spiritual depression. The psalmist, most likely David, addresses his own downcast, tumultuous soul and commands it to trust in God’s future salvation, despite current distance from the sanctuary and overwhelming circumstances.
Anxiety is another word for fear; fear that something bad might happen to us without reason.
Fear is a major weapon of the devil, no wonder God tells us in the bible some 365 times, "Do not fear."
One antidote for depression is to meditate on the record of God's goodness to His people. This will take your mind off the situation you face as you focus your thoughts on God's ability to help you resolve your problems, rather than on your inability to help yourself.
Remember the fact that what is impossible for you to resolve, whether financial, health, or relationships, work, or even addictions or anything else, is easily resolved by God (LUKE 1:37; MATHEW 19:26).
Not all fear comes from trials and tribulation, some comes through calling, like Jonah, he was so afraid to go to the place God sent him, that he run in the other direction, only to find himself swallowed by a giant fish, remained there for three days, only to be spat out and sent to the place originally sent him (JONAH 1-2).
He soon lost his fear, he strengthened himself, accepting God's plan for him, he went to the place God sent him, to find, actually, their really wasn't any reason to fear at all. God is always right however His plans may seem.
God knows your needs and what will make you happy more than you know yourself. Therefore, submit to the Lord, His plans and purposes for you, resist the devil-the fear and confusion, and go where he sent you to go.
As a result, the devil shall flee (JAMES 4:7), and peace, contentment, and joy of the Lord shall come upon you, and the joy of the Lord is your strength (NEHEMIAH 8:10).
Like hot is the opposite of cold, fear is the opposite of faith. Where there is faith, fear cannot prevail, and being the food of depression, without it, all depression will have to leave.
The psalmist confronts his fears and reinforces his faith-he strengthens himself (1 SAMUEL 30:6), and stops himself passively feeling depressed and begins actively "preaching" to himself, asking why he is despairing. This reflects a shift from emotional surrender to spiritual objective reflection.
The core message is to shift our focus from the surrounding turmoil to the unchanging, loving nature of God.
The phrase "I shall yet praise Him" indicates a firm, prophetic confidence that this current season of despair is not final, but temporary.
The "Help of His Countenance" is experiencing God’s favourable, smiling presence, which removes the despair (v5).
Even in a far, lonely land ("land of the Jordan"), the psalmist reminds himself of God’s past faithfulness (the "heights of Hermon") to build confidence for his current situation (v6).
My brethren, put your trust in Jesus; with as little as a mustard seed of faith, that mountain in your life will be gone; with it, all fear, anxiety/ depression, addiction, and every other situation you are facing.
Nothing is too small, big, or difficult for Jesus, and even when you know your troubles are a result of your own foolishness, God will help you through them.
When you are feeling down or anxious, or depressed, see this Psalm as your anti depressant, Read the Bible's accounts of God's goodness, and meditate on them, then ask yourself this question and focus on God’s faithfulness.
(Why am I discouraged? Why am I so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again, my Savour and my God! (PSALM 42:11).
All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.
Please like and share to our brothers and sisters all around the world.
God bless you all.
