Today’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 42:1-11
What do you do when there’s nothing left that you know to do? What do you do when you have no idea what to do? What do you do when you are overwhelmed?
We have been taught as Christians, to speak to the mountains that confront us in our lives. Very often we do speak to them, but God is speaking to
us today, not about those external mountains that confront and intimidate us, but about a different kind of mountain – the one that we carry about
with us; the one that we go to bed with and rise up in the morning with. The mountain that we can not run away from or close our eyes to and ignore.
He’s talking about that mountain that’s looming large as a dark cloud in your heart – our emotions; the feeling of fear and
discouragement that depress and weigh us down.
us today, not about those external mountains that confront and intimidate us, but about a different kind of mountain – the one that we carry about
with us; the one that we go to bed with and rise up in the morning with. The mountain that we can not run away from or close our eyes to and ignore.
He’s talking about that mountain that’s looming large as a dark cloud in your heart – our emotions; the feeling of fear and
discouragement that depress and weigh us down.
Again I ask you: What do you do when there’s nothing left for you to do? What do you do when you have no idea what to do?
We can do what David did –
He called out to the One who always knows what to do:
“Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (Psalms 61:1-2 NKJV)
David had an understanding that no matter how big the mountains in his life were that had overwhelmed his heart, there was One that stood taller and
higher than the biggest of the mountains that confounded him.
higher than the biggest of the mountains that confounded him.
He was saying to God, You are my hope when all hope is gone; you are my refuge and my shelter when earthly help fails. When the enemy comes in like
a flood and overwhelms my heart with fear and anxiety and hopelessness, please reach down into the depths of my depression and pull me up to stand
on that Rock that never fails!
a flood and overwhelms my heart with fear and anxiety and hopelessness, please reach down into the depths of my depression and pull me up to stand
on that Rock that never fails!
Hear what David said again in Psalm 62:5-8.
“My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.”
Psalms 62:5-7 NKJV
David declared his hope and faith in God to deliver him
And in Psalm 42:5-6, David said:
“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.”
Psalms 42:5 NKJV
Even though David may not have immediately known what to do about what he was going through, he knew just what he had to do about what he was feeling.
He felt Downcast: Depressed, feeling despondent; feeling discouraged from lack of hope or courage
He felt Disquieted: A feeling of anxiety and worry; uneasiness
He felt Hopeless
But David took all these feelings and did something with them:
Many of us are experts at speaking our feelings or speaking about our feelings –
David spoke to his feelings!
“Why are you downcast O my soul? Why are you discouraged within me?”
David commanded his feelings what to do: “Hope in the Lord”.
David admitted how he felt to God
“O my God, my soul is cast down within me; Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, And from the heights of Hermon, From the Hill Mizar.” Psalms 42:6 NKJV
David reminded himself of his past experiences of God’s faithfulness to him.
We can learn one thing from David’s attitude to adversity today:
Your situation may bring you to the place of discouragement and despair; but it is your feelings that will keep you in that place if you give them the permission to do so.
Child of God refuse today, to give your emotions the permission to dictate the state of your existence. As God said to you earlier in the week,
you are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.
you are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.
LIFE APPLICATION:
1. What is God saying to me in today’s message?
2. What was ministered to me in the bible verses that I read today?
3. What are the changes or adjustments I need to make in my life to align with the word of God?
4. What is my commitment to the word for today?
5. What practical steps can I take to benefit from the word I have read today?
PRAYER FOCUS:
Open your heart to God. How are you really feeling? Please be honest with God.
Speak to your feelings. Command them to align with the word of God.
Remind yourself of your experience of God’s faithfulness especially in the past year. Meditate on His goodness and spend time throughout today
to express your gratefulness and thanks to Him.
to express your gratefulness and thanks to Him.
God bless and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you in Jesus’ Name.
Pastor Wale Ola
Today’s Song: Phil Wickam – When My Heart is Torn Asunder