Hope in God

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. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. (Psalm 42:5-8 ESV).

Richard Sibbes, one of the great old Puritan preachers of Cambridge who died in 1635, wrote a whole book (175 pages) on dealing with the first verse of our reading today. He was called “the sweet dropper” because of how much confidence and joy his sermons caused. He titled his book The Soul’s Conflict with Itself. That is the picture of the psalmist’s cry in this ancient hymn. The soul of a man often argues with itself, preaching to itself. “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God!” Hoping in God does not come naturally for us. Our sin nature is still strong within us. So, we must speak it to our hearts diligently, even forcefully. Should we forget to do this we will give way to a downcast and disquieted spirit. I have found this to be a little known basic of the Christian life. When I say this to my clients in the midst of the despair and trouble I usually get that look as if I had two heads. However, it will stave off the inevitable discouragement in the midst of our struggles. Recently I was asked to preach at my home church. Preparing those messages was very encouraging. It gave me time to write four sermons on different topics, and it’s been quite helpful to refer back to them in the writing of the Morning Devotionals. Sometimes when I’m depressed reasoning doesn’t seem to get me very far and it’s easier just to try to hold on to certain verses or truths. In fact, the best sermon you preach yourself this week may be only three words long: Hope in God! I love the way the psalmists wrestle and fight and struggle to maintain their hope in God. This is normal Christian experience while we are still just saved sinners. And we better own up to it, or else we may grow sluggish and negligent in our fight for hope. And that is very dangerous, as our text plainly teaches. You may have been on the verge of giving up hope for any change in your life for some time. Can I implore you to preach that sermon over and over in your mind: Hope in God! After all, it really is that little voice that whispers maybe when the whole world is shouting no.