March 26 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Have you ever felt down or depressed and thought you would never get out of it? Emotional depression has become a major health problem in the world. As people of God we are not immune to depression or left untouched by it. Difficult circumstances and situations can cause us to feel extremely discouraged and downcast. There are a host of factors that can make a person feel downcast. We may feel so down that we think the Lord doesn’t care about us. Sometimes we cannot pinpoint exactly what triggers depression. Yet for Christians there is hope and encouragement! We have the resources available to us to deal with depression.

Psalm 42 is one of those texts that offer help. This psalm is the first song in the second book of the 150 psalms. The first psalm in Book One (Psalm 1) spells out what true happiness is. Here at the beginning of the second book, the Lord teaches us how covenant people can deal with despondency by setting their hope in God.

For one reason or another, the psalmist is cut off from actively participating in covenant worship. As a result he is deeply discouraged. His heart's desires are not granted to him even though what he wants is good and honourable. Nevertheless, he does not throw up his hands and say, “What’s the use? Why bother living?” On the contrary, his depression and dejection bring him to the Lord. Reviewing the past, the psalmist can see how the Lord has always been committed to His people. He is ever faithful in His care, love and support.

Contemplating on the faithfulness of the Lord does not necessarily take away despondency and depression, but it helps us through it. Coming through the valleys can be a bitter and life-long struggle. Yet repeatedly the psalmist makes his way out of the valleys of sadness by climbing the heights of God’s faithfulness. Struggling in faith, he turns to the God of his life in prayer. Since the Lord is faithful, we, too, can approach Him with all our concerns. The Lord is not unmoved and untouched by our hardships. The Lord will accompany us not only when we walk high but also when we are bent low. Sometimes He gives us a cross to bear to test the genuineness of our faith, to teach us to wait for Him and to go to Him in prayer. When you are feeling down, turn to the God of your salvation! He knows your thoughts and what burdens your heart. In previous centuries the Lord displayed how good and gracious He really is. Why would He not show that to you?