Be Honest About Hope

Scripture — Psalm 42:5-6

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
     and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
     my help and my God.

Devotion

Psalm 42 begins with the psalm writer’s expression of a powerful desire for God. His soul “longs” and “thirsts” for God like a thirsty deer panting for “flowing streams” (42:1:-2). All that he has to eat and drink are his own tears (42:3). Though he remembers times when he joyously praised God, this is not one of those times. Later in the psalm we learn that the writer is being oppressed and taunted by his enemies (42:9-10). This explains his dejection and discouragement.

Yet the psalmist is disturbed, not only by his adversaries but also by his response to them. Thus, in verse 5 he asks himself, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?” Other translations capture the feeling of this question in more common language. The CEB has, “Why, I ask myself, are you so depressed? Why are you so upset inside?” The Message gets even more creative, “Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues?”

The writer’s soul could easily respond, “Because my enemies are harassing me.” But this response isn’t adequate. It focuses understandably on the distressing problem at hand but forgets something essential . . . the presence and power of God. So the psalmist says to his soul, “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God” (Psalm 42:5).

Notice that the writer isn’t only exhorting himself to be hopeful. This isn’t an exercise in wishful thinking and positive self-talk. Rather, it is a reaffirmation of the relationship that the psalmist has with God. He knows God as his help because God has helped him in the past. Plus, God is not just the God of heaven and earth, but “my God.”

Part of what I love about Psalm 42 is that it doesn’t end here with the good news of verse 5. Rather, after urging his soul to have hope and remembering his relationship with God, the psalm writer once again says, “My soul is cast down within me” (Psalm 42:6). He needs to remember God’s steadfast love for him yet again (42:6-8). Having done this, however, the writer asks God, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I walk about mournfully because the enemy oppresses me?” (42:9). On the heels of these desperate questions, the writer repeats his earlier refrain, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God” (42:11).

Psalm 42 shows us that hoping in God isn’t easy. We can’t simply throw some inner switch to flood our soul with hope. Rather, hoping in God is an iterative process, a movement back and forth between confident affirmation of God’s goodness and honest expressions of fear that God has abandoned us. As we grow in hope, we remember how God has helped us in the past and we also wrestle with what can feel like God’s absence in the present. In one moment we’re asking the Lord, “Why have you forgotten me?” while in the next moment we’re saying to ourselves, “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.”

Psalm 42 gives us permission to be honest about our hope in God . . . or lack thereof. This psalm would say to us in the season of Advent: Yes, hope in God! But don’t pretend as if this is easy. Be honest with God. Express your doubts and fears. God can handle them. After all, God is your help. God is your God.

Banner image by John Royle on Unsplash.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Riding the Roller Coaster of Genuine Faith.

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