Our God reigns

DEVOTION

PSALMS

OUR GOD REIGNS

Ps 42

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long," Where is your God?" 4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.

5 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 6 my God.

My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon — from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me — a prayer to the God of my life.

9 I say to God my Rock," Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?" 10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, "Where is your God?"

11 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.

NIV

This is one of those songs which David wrote perhaps while hiding in some cave from the attempts Saul was making to find him and kill him. This also could have been prophetic as to what Jesus might have be feeling on the cross, although we are not told any of that, except perhaps the “why have you forgotten me” phrase. Still when it comes to our lives, we too might experience these feelings at certain times or in certain situations. This sort of defines those ups and downs in our journey with the Lord. There are those times when it seems God is far off and life is just not as good as it should be, or we think it should be. The question we need to ask of ourselves is whether we pant after God as the deer pants for water. When a deer pants for water, which is an all-consuming drive to find the water, drinks it in until the thirst is satisfied. Even in our ups and downs, we should still thirst after God. We should still pant for God. But are those moments in life when things just pile up and press us down to a point that all we can think about is the situation and when will we find a way out, or if we are even looking for a way out. The idea is that although we cannot, or should not live on our laurels, we can live on the perfection and the history we have with God. When things seem hopeless, we can recount all the things that God has done in us, for us and though us. We can remember all the times he was so near and either provided miraculously for us, healed us, protected us, lead us, stood by us and helped us. We can remember the first day we accepted him as Lord and Savior and how the heavy burden of guilt from sin was lifted off our being, how free we felt, how exhilarating that moment was. Then we can be sure, we can renew our hope in him, knowing he is not far off, he promised that he would never leave or forsake us. Our life is secure in him and we are once again lifted up and rejoice in our Savior. There is no need to be downcast. We put our hope in the Lord. We will rejoice and be glad. We will sing and praise the Lord,  our God reigns.