As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? . . . 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. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan . . . say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 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: 1-2,5-6,9-11)
We all look at people and assume they are ok. We see a successful man or woman and want to believe all is well with them. Even at times, we look in the mirror and believe the lie:
I am doing pretty good!
Take this man for instance: Mother died when he was nine . . .received no formal education . . .sister died in child birth . . .a failed business man at twenty-four . . . the woman he loved died of high fever when he was twenty-five . . .he lost in an attempt to run for Congess at thirty-four . . .three of his four sons died before reaching adulthood . . .yet when President, he chose to have a Nation stop to celebrate a day of Thanksgiving as a National Holiday in 1863.
If President Abraham Lincoln could do it . . . if the psalmist David could do it . . .
we can do it! If no one else seems to be able to lift us, God will! Stop waiting on people for their approval or encouragement. They may not even know (or care) that we are struggling.
Sometimes we have to look in the mirror and just ask ourselves: "Why stay so downcast? Get up and move on! God wants more from me!"
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