Why Art Thou Cast Down?

When you're struggling with sadness or depression, do you immediately turn to the Psalms? It's one of the most comforting and uplifting books of the Bible, where we can find answers and encouragement for the day.

Reading along through the Psalms recently, I came across a verse that I know by heart, but it shone in a new light this time.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. Psalm 42:5

I've turned to the Psalms for peace in my very soul, and this verse tells me I shouldn't be that way to begin with!

Imagine David sitting down to have a heart-to-heart conversation with his own soul. He knows he shouldn't be brought down low — you know that very felling, right? — because of the mighty God he serves. He questions his soul about where this feeling came from because it isn't from a holy place.

Then he explains the two reasons his soul should be glad today: hope and praise.

If we're hoping in the Lord — really believing in His guiding hand — we have nothing to be down about. Depression has no place in a heart that believes God has a perfect plan for our lives. Where there is hope, there is joy. And where there is joy, there is praise.

If we're praising the Lord for all He has done for us, we'll be too busy to be discouraged. Right this moment, I challenge you to think of five ways God has blessed you in the past hour. If this doesn't come easily, I encourage you to do this every hour on the hour until it does. 

With the renewing of the mind to focus on God instead of self, sadness and depression have no more room. They get pushed out of our heart, soul and mind by peace and joy and hope. Then come the praises that are a delight to God's ear. 

His countenance, His favor upon us, is a blessing beyond measure and a help in the worst of times. With this precious gift shining every day, we have no reason to be down and out — we'll be too busy shouting His praises and thanking Him for all He's done.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet
Read more

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee
Read more

Crafts For Teen Girls To Make

Image
In our teen girls Bible study, we're studying our way through the Proverbs 31 woman and it's been such a blessing to me, as I hope it's been to them. Every month we spend an afternoon or an evening together studying Scripture, making something amazing in the kitchen and creating something that corresponds to the verse we're in. Choosing the crafts each time can be a challenge for several reasons. It needs to be something they can completely finish (or do most of) because once they leave they're probably not going to work on it themselves - that's just the nature of teenagers. Remember? It also needs to be a project that keeps they're attention, is age-appropriate and is cool enough that they'll want to keep it or give it to someone special. But hey, no pressure on the Bible study leader, right? Here are just a few of the projects we've done together in the year we've been meeting. * This month's craft will be the adorable cross stit
Read more