Thursday November 7, 2024

Today is Thursday, November 7, 2024 and we are studying Psalm 42 – praying that God would move our hearts from despair to hope!

In this season, we pray together: 

May the cornerstone of my life, and of our life together, be Christ and Christ alone. AMEN.

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.
Psalm 42:7-8

Remember that the writer of this psalm finds themselves far from Jerusalem, far from the house of God where he once worshiped. Now, surrounded by mockers and distant from his familiar sanctuary, he finds himself longing for God’s presence. His spirit wavers, caught between hope that he’ll once again praise the Lord as before, and despair over his present affliction.

Deep needs call for deep remedies. Remember the invitation from earlier this week? Tell God what your soul needs.

In verse 8, depending on your translation, it might say the Lord commands, sends, pours, decrees, or gives his love. All point to the same truth: God wants you to experience his love. Say it with me: “For God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This great, given love is directed at you – at work, the grocery store, gas station, doctor’s office, school, church, home.

The Psalmist, remembering God’s love in seasons of joy (42:4), trusts that even in the night (42:5) God is with him. As the call and response goes: “God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good.” May we join that chorus when we find ourselves in trouble.

The waterfall is an image of being overwhelmed– the unrelenting noise and weight of inner and outer struggles. Yet, within the storm, God’s voice calls, steady and hopeful. The depths of God’s love and grace call out to us in the depths of despair. A deep remedy in our deep need.

What kind of love is this? It’s not distant (as the mockers suggest) but near and immediate. It’s not conditional but commanded-love from God. His love is directed right toward the one who feels as though they’re drowning. You are the object of God’s affection. In the depths, the depth of God’s love calls out to you. In the darkness, the light of God’s grace shines upon you. Through the noise of crashing water, God quiets your soul by his love (Zephaniah 3:17).

Today the God of your life directs his love to you. Would you receive it? Do you hear it over the noise of the waterfall of struggles in your life? Do you see it shining in the darkness? Would you find comfort in his song?

Let these songs remind you of His song of love sung over you: In Jesus’ Name and Amazing Grace.

Pause and Pray

Gracious God, in the depths you meet us with deep love. We cry out to you. We trust in you in moments of joy and moments of sorrow. When we are overwhelmed and the weight of life presses upon us, remind us of your presence that gives us hope. Let your love be our anchor in rough waters and your light our guide in dark places. Amen.

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