Psalm 42 and 43
“Thirsty?”
June 24, 2007
Associate Pastor Doug Forsberg
At a recent conference, our leader handed out a sheet that included questions for us to answer. He instructed us to look at the first question, “What book would you bring with you if you were stuck on a dessert island?” A few of us laughed and I thought that if I was stuck on a dessert island I would probably want a book written by Richard Simmons or perhaps a book called Abs of Steel on a Dessert Diet.
The leader soon recognized his mistake and corrected himself, saying that he meant a desert island. That got me to thinking that I’d much rather be trapped on a dessert island than a desert island. Imagine the choices you’d have to make each day: “Should I have the ice cream sandwich, the sorbet, or the triple chocolate, hot fudge with extra chocolate and a brownie ice cream sundae?”
Unfortunately, we have yet to discover any dessert islands, but for all those who follow Jesus Christ and long for the fullness of the Kingdom of God, there are times when we know all too well what it feels like to be on a desert island. The fact of the matter is that there are seasons of life when we feel that we are alone, separated from God, for God feels far off, and if we’re willing to speak the truth, there are times when it feels as though God has forsaken us. Such seasons of life often leave us depressed and discouraged.
The writer of Psalms 42 and 43 knew this feeling and gives voice to words that we might be afraid to speak for fear of exposing the weakness of our faith or of pushing God even farther away than we feel him to be. The Psalmist will not let fear hinder him; instead with all of his heart he cries out to God, wondering where God is and why God has forgotten him.
This is the faith of those who went before us: Abraham and Sarah, David, Job, Hannah, Jeremiah, and most importantly, Jesus. One commentator notes that “We frequently pretend to a higher level of faith and to a greater trust in God than we actually possess, not because we are stronger than the psalmists but because we are weaker. It takes a spiritually strong person to express a strong doubt strongly.”[1]
Maybe we can recognize such faith in a woman who wrote, “I’ve been living at the edge of the abyss for several years now. Yes, I have had close times, have felt the presence of God, and those memories alone are what keep me from checking out. I cling to those memories, and get nothing else, no new sign that God is listening.”[2] There are seasons in our life of faith where we too wonder if God is listening, wonder how he could leave us in the situation in which we find ourselves, wonder when and if we will ever know his comforting presence again.
This is a great mystery. Many Christians have called such seasons “the dark night of the soul,” and for those who have lived through such a season, that phrase is full of meaning and truth. One of the blessings of Psalms 42 and 43 is that we discover that we are not the first to experience such a dark night of the soul and that such an experience does not mean that we are outside of God’s loving embrace.
We need to be aware that there are seasons of life when God’s people need to seek wise counsel from those God has provided. Pastors, doctors, psychologists, and counselors are not to be avoided by Christians experiencing depression and discouragement, for God has given us such aides in our times of need.
In these two psalms, 42 and 43, which were originally one, the psalmist faces a problem that we too experience: he is separated from God. His separation is total, involving his emotions, physical body and spirit. His lament at the beginning of the psalm indicates the depth of his trial and the vastness of the separation from God he feels: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’”
We might wonder about the source of our separation from God. As we read and pray through Psalms 42 and 43 we discover a number of causes. As we look at those causes we should remember that the causes we find in these two psalms are not the only possible triggers of feeling separated from the Lord. In fact, there are times in which there is no apparent cause and we simply must make our way through a spiritual desert.
One of the sources of depression and discouragement found in these two psalms involves remembering times when God’s presence was very close to us. In 42:4 the psalmist actively remembers the previous closeness he enjoyed with God. Sometimes memory can be a good thing leading us closer to God as we recall his faithfulness, but there are other times when memory only reminds us of the fact that we no longer feel God’s presence as we once did. It is wonderful to have an experience in which we sense the Lord’s abiding presence with us. But when we don’t sense his presence we wonder where he is and why he has forgotten us.
Another cause of discouragement and depression is other people. In 42:3 and 10 and 43:1 we find the psalmist lamenting the existence of people who question his relationship with God and God’s very presence in the psalmist’s life. It takes only a few well timed and well aimed words to discourage our hearts. Sometimes we speak these hurtful words to others and at other times they are spoken to us. In both cases the wounds can be deep and lasting as we take some tiny bit of the truth, shape it into a lie, and then let it loose upon the heart of another. Clearly, the psalmist is experiencing discouragement because unbelievers are asking him point blank, “Where, in the midst of your trial, is your God?”
Such discouragement can also be brought on by believers when they say things like, “If you really believed this wouldn’t hurt you so much,” or “You’d be healed if you’d just submit to the Lord,” or “There must be unconfessed sin in your life so you’re facing God’s judgment,” or “God never gives you more than you can bear.” So often words, even those that are well intended, throw us off track and lead us into a time of doubt.
The difficulties of life and its seemingly random nature can also lead us into discouragement and depression. Listen to verse 7 of Psalm 42: “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” Often this verse is read in a very positive light in which we think that the depths of God are calling to our depths in such a way that we cannot miss this call, just as we cannot miss the roar of a waterfall. Such a reading of this verse is incorrect. (Sire, 91) One commentary notes the following about the word deep: “From the beginning of the Scripture to the end, references to ‘the deep’ and ‘the depths’ are images of terror with associations of danger, chaos, evil and death.”[3]
Instead of this being a positive image, it is a negative one in which we find the psalmist struggling to comprehend the chaos he finds at work in his life. When evil touches our lives it can and does lead to depression and discouragement for we are suddenly faced with questions that cannot be answered and grief that is more than we can bear.
One other cause of discouragement and depression is the great tempter, Satan. In 42:9 and 43:2 the psalmist wonders why he must suffer under the oppression of his enemy. Ultimately, we know that the greatest enemy we face is not unbelievers, chaos or the effects of sin in our lives. Our greatest enemy is also the Lord’s enemy, the wicked serpent. Doubt, discouragement, and depression are the currency of his trade. He would like nothing better than to take our eyes off of the Lord, so that we might sink into the waters rising around us. In such moments of despair it is important for us to remember this promise, “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (John 4:4).
It seems to me that the demon-possessed man in our first scripture reading knew discouragement and depression, for he had no friends, his body was broken, he was alone and seemingly without hope. Satan was having his way with this man: depression and discouragement must have been a daily part of his life. We’re told that he faced this trial for a long time, but then at the end of that long time, Jesus comes and heals this man. After all of that waiting he is ready to follow Jesus wherever Jesus goes, but Jesus tells him to go home and tell others all that God has done for him. The man does just that.
We’ve seen that Psalms 42 and 43 deal with the problem of depression and discouragement. We’ve also seen that these psalms offer up some of the causes of our feelings of separation from God. Thankfully, these psalms also offer a cure for the difficulties we face when the Lord seems far off.
The cure offered in these psalms has three parts. First, those who find themselves thirsting and wondering if they have been forgotten by God must persevere in prayer. In such prayer they are free to express the full range of their emotions to their Father in Heaven. Often, we are tempted to view prayer as a polite conversation, but in the scriptures prayer is often seen as a wrestling match. If you long for God presence, if you feel as though you’ve been abandoned, tell God. Don’t be afraid to bring the full force of who you are and how you feel before the Lord. It is safe to say that your creator can handle whatever you have to say. Don’t give up. In prayer keep going to the Lord offering to him the depression and discouragement you are experiencing. Three times the psalmist says, “Why are you downcast, O my soul,” and he does this not to make a pretty poem but as an example of praying without ceasing and praying with honesty.
The second part of the cure offered in these psalms is to continue reading the scriptures, God’s word. 43:3 asks God to send forth his light and truth, to reveal himself to the psalmist. In God’s word we discover who he is. We also discover his will for our lives. If God feels far off to you, discipline yourself to continue reading the Bible. You will be tempted to put it aside, but don’t do that. Instead, spend more time in it and offer that time to the Lord as you seek his face.
The third part of the cure offered in these psalms is to live in hope of what God will do. It seems somewhat counterintuitive to tell those suffering through depression and discouragement to live in hope. After all, hope is what seems to be in short supply. Three times in the midst of the psalmist’s discouragement and depression he reminds himself to put his hope in God. Depending on the depth of the separation you are experiencing, hope may be in short supply, but as you walk through that season hold on tenaciously to hope, for you know who God is, you know his great promises to you in the gospel, and you know that no matter how far off God seems, “The LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" (Deut 31:6).
Are you thirsty? Put your hope in the one who says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life” (Rev 21:6). Are you thirsty? Listen to these words found at the end of Revelation, “Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (22:17). Friends, there is hope for those who thirst. Don’t give up, for your thirst will be quenched.
May it be Lord. May it be.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] James Montgomery Boice, Psalms: Vol. 2 Psalms 42-106, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2002, p. x.
[2] Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006, p. 64.
[3] James W. Sire, Learning to Pray Through the Psalms, Downers Grove, Ill: Intervarsity Press, 2005, p. 91.