”Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:11New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 42:11 Devotional (Daily Bible Verse)
Put your hope in God
The Psalmist, in Psalm 42:11, exhorts you to “Put your hope in God“. And being the second time he made this exhortation, you can conclude that he wanted to emphasize the same.
Psalm 42
Nevertheless, Psalm 42 is a lament, written by the Psalmist to express the emotions he experienced when he felt that he was distant from God. At the time, the Psalmist was far from God’s temple in Jerusalem.
He, therefore, expressed his longing to be near to God. But his emotions do not translate to your truth. Because God is omnipresent. God is therefore near to you.
You consequently do not need to deny your feelings when you feel distant from God. Rather, you have to acknowledge them and get to their root. Because Satan will exploit your low-moment feelings, as he has always done, to make you perceive that God has forsaken you.
But this is false because God would never leave or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). It is usually Satan’s scheme to draw you away from God.
No wonder the Psalmist progressed from feeling alone (Psalm 42:9b), to being attacked (Psalm 42:9b), and finally to being discouraged (42:11). Therefore, when the Psalmist was oppressed by the enemy, he spoke to himself to challenge his own sense of discouragement.
Psalm 42 verse 11
Specifically, in Psalm 42 verse 11, the Psalmist began by asking his soul two (2) questions. He thereafter followed up these questions with a command to his soul. And he, therefore, commanded his soul to hope in God.
Finally, he resolved that he would praise God who was his Saviour, and possibly look forward to His salvation. Only God could save him.
Change is a constant in your circumstances
It is therefore important that you appreciate that change is a constant in your circumstances. Therefore, when your circumstances change, your feelings will also change. But God and His Word do not change. And this is the basis for your hope in God, thus, your constant hope in the ever-changing world.
Hope is essential
Hope is essential in an ever-changing world because hope keeps you in the right focus. No wonder the Psalmist needed to keep his hope in God and keep the confidence that he would praise God. You too need to place your hope in God and cultivate praise in your life. And you need to praise God, the source of your hope, no matter what.
When you lack hope, you lose the essence of life and living. This is why your hope needs to be in God at all times. You need to set your mind and heart on the hope that God has provided (Colossians 3:2). And your best bet at refocusing is changing your focus by talking (preaching) to yourself because faith comes by hearing (Hebrews 11:1 and Romans 10:17).
Tell yourself what God has said in His Word (Joshua 1:7-9). Don’t allow other voices to speak to you. Most often than not they’ll speak hopelessness to you. Yet God’s Word is sufficient, therefore, all that you need.
Prayer/Blessing
Lord God, thank you for being my source of hope and salvation. Thank You that I can find salvation and healing in Your presence.
Please forgive me for trusting my feelings to determine my reality. Forgive me for forgetting Your salvation.
Help me preach to my soul and remind myself of the abiding hope I have in You. This is my humble prayer of faith in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Daily Bible Reading
Psalms 81-87 (see How to Read the Bible in One Year or How to Read the Bible (for Beginners))
