A personal pep-talk
Life’s been busy lately. “Very full” would be a better description.
I won’t list everything out for you…I fear that would not only be rather dull for you to read, but I don’t want to get anywhere near a “humble-brag”, either. To say I have shared a lot of worthwhile time with many different people/groups, both at work and in the community, will suffice.
I’d rather we talk about how we feel when we’re dealing with a season like this. There’s some mixture of tired-fulfilled-weary-happy-reflective-drained that I think we can all relate to.
That’s why I love spending time in the book of Psalms. These song-writers did not hold back on sharing their life experiences with God. You’ll find the entire range of emotions, multiple times over, as you read through them.
Here’s a portion of Psalm 42 that is really resonating with me right now:
Psalm 42:5-8
Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.
I am deeply depressed; therefore I remember You
from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls;
all Your breakers and Your billows have swept over me.
The Lord will send His faithful love by day;
His song will be with me in the night – a prayer to the God of my life.
I wouldn’t say I’m at the level of feeling dejected and deeply depressed, but I recognize those feelings from other times in my life. We all go through seasons when those are very real and very deeply felt.
The part of this psalm that resonates for me right now is the psalmist giving himself a pep-talk. Did you notice that? He’s talking to his own soul. He identifies the feelings of turmoil, but doesn’t claim them as his identity. Instead, the psalmist encourages himself to put your hope in God, insisting that despite how low he feels, I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.
When we’re struggling, a dejected soul may want to just curl up in a ball in a dark room, but instead, the psalmist takes three bold steps away from the darkness:
1. When he feels depressed, his first step is to remember the God who loves him.
2. Next, he enjoys nature – being present in and listening to the sounds of God’s creation, like His waterfalls, can help clean out the junk we feel inside.
3. Lastly, he looks for God by day and in the night, trusting that God will meet him there.
This three-step pep-talk helps clarify our perspective when a season of life has been so full. However, let’s be clear – these steps don’t “work” because we simply do them. We’re not capable of fixing ourselves. These steps only “work” because by doing them, we bring ourselves back to the God who loves us more than we can understand. Keeping close to Him is what we truly need, in all of life’s seasons.
Keep Pressing,
Ken