Sometimes the winter months, more than any time of the year, can pull us down. Lots of gray, cloudy days and cold temperatures leave us longing for the bright sunshine and warmth of spring and the heat of summer.
Our circumstances can do the same. We often feel as if the winter of our life will never go away. In Psalms 42 and 43, in his honesty, the psalmist obviously felt the same way.
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
He was giving in to his circumstances and allowing the weight of his situation to define who he was and him pull him down. (see Psalm 139) It left him feeling,
-- depressed
-- forgotten
-- sad
-- oppressed
-- unable to physically function
This was the same psalmist who used to go to the house of the Lord and praise Him with other believers. His soul was hungry and longing for that fellowship with God and other believers. Yet he made the choice to let his circumstances hold him captive and keep him away from the very thing he loved the most ~ leaving him joyless and unproductive in his walk with the Lord.
We do the same thing, don't we? More often than not, we choose to surrender to our circumstances, giving into our feelings rather than embracing the Truth of God's Word. The good news is that we don't have to stay this way. The Psalmist clearly goes on to tells us what to do in our dilemma. He gives us the perfect recipe for the winter of our life.
Put your hope in God, for
I will yet praise Him,
my Savior and my God.
Praise helps us focus on the greatness of our God!!! Even though circumstance may or may not change, our attitude towards our circumstance will. Choose to remember His faithfulness and praise Him that:
-- He is your Hope
-- He is your Savior
-- He is your Strength
. . . I will remember You.
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