Beyond Common Sense

Why are you cast down, O my soul? 
And why are you disquieted within me? 
Hope in God; 
For I shall yet praise Him, 
The help of my countenance and my God. 
Psalm 43:5

This is one of my favorite verses, but today I dug a little deeper and, as always, found treasures beyond comparison!

• The psalmist is talking to himself. Do you ever do that? You are in good company. Having that two-way conversation with yourself and God is invaluable! HOWEVER, talking just to yourself and just soothing your conscience with your own thinking or the worlds nonsense is just the opposite—it is dangerous and misleading. The psalmist is talking to his soul, the part of us that communes with God. He reminds himself—his soul—that he shouldn’t be cast down or disquieted, but what do those two words actually mean?
• The Hebrew word for ‘cast down’ can be translated as: to be prostrated, be humbled, be reduced, be weakened, proceed humbly, be bowed down
  • To be prostrated or humbled is a good thing but to be reduced or weakened is not. When have I allowed myself to becomes weakened or reduced—to become ineffective because of others or, worse, because of myself—my insecurities in Christ and His power, His plan for me? I’ve lost sight of what He wants to do in my life, but…
  • I am comforted because Moses, the greatest leader Israel ever had, did the same thing!
• The Hebrew word for ‘disquieted’ can be translated as:  to murmur, growl, roar, cry aloud, mourn, rage, sound, make noise, tumult, be clamorous (marked by confused din or outcry : TUMULTUOUS, noisily insistent), be disquieted, be loud, be moved, be troubled, be in an uproar
  • This is not an outward roaring. I have allowed myself to become disquieted—to murmur, growl, roar, rage—inside! How dangerous to my body AND my soul!
  • When we are disquieted within, life becomes unbearable. The pressures of everyday life can quickly overwhelm us and put is in a very bad place. Sadly, we become irritable, unreasonable—simply put, someone no one wants to be around. We don’t even want to be around ourselves!! This is a sad situation. It is a hard place to be, but we are there because GOD WANTS TO TEACH US SOMETHING. The question is, will be respond like the psalmist does?

SOLUTION:

• Hope in God—This is step number one! “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” Helen H. Lemuel gave us such good advice in these words!
  • Turn—Move away from Satan’s whispers to God’s promises!Look—If you are a parent, you understand what she is saying. How many times do we say to our children, “Look at my eyes.” We understand how important that is and so does Jesus!Wonderful face—we find no condemnation, just love and TRUTH.The things of earth will grow strangely dim—all of those shouting criticisms, negative solutions, lustful desires will fade away
  • In the light of his GLORY AND GRACE—two wonderful words: glory—all the goodness and greatness of God, and grace—God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense just waiting for our surrender.
• Change of heart—The psalmist says, “I will yet praise Him.” He has seen the light. He now understands. He has moved towards the truth and his God and made a decision to praise Him even though he may not understand or even feel like it.
• Look up and acknowledge God—
  • “The help of my countenance—Again, the psalmist recognizes that his only help is God, “the help of my countenance. (This Hebrew word is also translated ‘face.” When we have a changed heart, not changed circumstances, it will show on our faces.)
  • “And my God.” Praise the Lord! He is MY God! HE will never leave me even when I’ve left Him, HE will never doubt me, even when I doubt Him, HE will love me when I’m unlovely, disquieted, weak, murmuring, growling, roaring, raging, simply out of control—which means I’m in someone’s control. If I’m not in control and God is not in control, guess who is! SCARY!

Lord, help me to remember that when I’m like this, Satan is winning. Oh, Father! The last thing I want in my life if for Satan to win even a toehold in my life! Thank you that you are MY God, that you are always and only good, that you are my Shepherd, Comforter, and best Friend!!