Why Are You Down in the Dumps

    

 

5 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.   Ps 42:5 (NKJV)

 

What a beautiful and poetic passage of Scripture!  It almost makes me feel uplifted in my situation just by the sheer beauty of the words. And then is the profound truth, that God is my hope and help.  Recalling these truths definitely put me on the path to feeling encouraged.

 

There are many things in life that make us feel downcast, disquieted and hopeless.  Sickness,  hormones, life situations, chemical imbalance, fear- the reasons for feeling down can be endless.  I am so grateful that when my  emotions can swing up and down within the circumstances of a single day, that God is always stable.  He is a firm and unshakeable foundation on which to stand. When we remind ourselves of spiritual truth, our spirit man (or woman) becomes strengthened and the grace to feel like "I can handle this," rises up within us. 

 

Sometimes we know exactly what is taxing our peace.  Other times, it seems to be a free-floating feeling of disrest, for which there is no explanation.  At times like this, we have to do as King David did and "encourage ourselves in the Lord."

 

I love the way the Message Bible translates this passage:

    

 Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues?

Fix my eyes on God — soon I'll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face.

He's my God.

 

 

Dear Lord, thank you for being the "quieter" of my anxiety, my hope of help and deliverance.  Help me to always  keep you at the center of my thoughts.  In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

Sherri