- Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. Psalm 42:7 – Imagine being caught out in the waves of the ocean. As you continue to try to swim to the surface for air, the powerful waves keep crashing in over you keeping you under. The pressure from the waves feels and sounds as if a full waterfall of water was pushing you deeper into the depths of the waters. You are powerfulness in this situation against the waves and the overwhelming despair begins settles as you realize there is no hope of getting to the surface. This is where the psalmist was at spiritually within his life. He was so empty, so downcast, and so thirsty for the Lord’s presence because his situation was so dire. What though do we see him do in this terrible place? Twice he challenges himself with a question, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” He pauses there in the crashing waves and asked himself, “Why am I in such despair? I have the Lord in my story and I can place my hope in Him!” Maybe such a pause needs to happen in your story too. If life is feeling like the overwhelming crashing of waves right now and despair is settling in, speak to the despair and ask yourself, “Why am I feeling this way?” For you have the Lord with you, He is there standing above the crashing waves, extending His hand to you so you can walk on the waters with Him. We who have a relationship with the Lord can always place our hope in the Lord, even when the deep is seeking to consume us. He has faithfully rescued us in every struggle in our past, and He can do so again today. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2997
- Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. Psalms 42:11 – Sometimes we will have to tell ourselves to hope in God even when we don’t feel like it. Its not that God’s faithfulness to us has changed or His love for us has changed. Nothing on God’s side has changed to give us a reason to believe we can’t hope in Him. Life though, and the trouble in it, can depress us and discourage us deeply. In those moments, we may just have to tell ourselves to hope in God. Maybe we don’t feel like hoping in God at the moment or life has made you question God’s faithfulness. Whatever the case is, our hope for anything good in life is only from God. Life may be downcasting your soul, but you can choose to lift your eyes to God. That may be the only choice you can control today, just know it’s the right choice. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 978
- Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation…Psalm 42:5 – In our pain and struggle, sometimes our soul doesn’t want to hope in God. We don’t feel like praising Him. We don’t feel like worshiping Him. The psalmist was right there in this season of his life, yet look at what he did. He chose to hope and he chose to lift praise. Maybe he didn’t feel like it, but he chose to turn to God. This is the example we need to follow in our story. When we don’t feel like hoping in God and when we don’t feel like praising Him, tell your soul to do it anyways. It’s the redirect our life needs in the struggle. Jesus is the one who will bring salvation and healing to the pain, turn to Him especially in the times when turning to Him isn’t what you feel like doing. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1759
Daily DEVO 