Are you troubled and cast down in your mind and spirit? Has the darkness and gloom of this present world around us engulfed you in its hopelessness? Is the turmoil of society troubling you? Are you cast down because you are going through a time of personal difficulty like feeling rejected by one that was a close friend, the loss of a loved one, or that of a troubling medical condition? Are sharp arrows of the enemy coming against you from every side? While Psalms 42 and 43 may be messianic they also portray someone that is apparently going through a season of deep distress, yet three times (42:5, 11; 43:5) these words ring out above the gloom, “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 (my) countenance” (and two of these verses add “and my God”.) In John 16:33 Jesus told His disciples “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 the Apostle Paul found himself “hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” In Luke 21 Jesus speaks of fearful things and times of great difficulty in the world, but He says in verse 28 “…lift up heads, because your redemption draws near.” In all his difficulties and tribulations the Apostle Paul found the secret he conveys to the Thessalonians in his first epistle to them, in 5:18 he says, “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Be Thankful
By Ade E. Thomlinson (selected by Rose Hill)
When you are in deep trouble,
And it’s hard to praise the Lord.
Don’t sigh, or groan, or grumble,
But stand upon God’s word.
Complaining doesn’t help you,
But thanksgiving to God will.
He’ll lift your heavy burden,
And speak words, “Peace be still”.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright …1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.