As a deer pants for streams of fresh cool
water, so my soul thirsts for thee, Oh God.
Psalm 42:1
For the most part, we are usually preoccupied in caring for our physical bodies...
water, so my soul thirsts for thee, Oh God.
Psalm 42:1
For the most part, we are usually preoccupied in caring for our physical bodies...
We feed and clothe ourselves, and we do what we can to look and feel good. And that's okay. But how much care do we give to our souls? Probably not much at all. In fact, many of us may not even know that we have a soul. The Bible, however, says we most definitely do.
The soul could be thought of as the inner core of our being, or what we would call the essence of our inner heart. I agree with this. It's basically the substance of ourselves, which God created in us all. And as we each have different personalities, so too our souls.
And like one's physical body, the soul can experience joy as well as sadness. It can know happiness as well as grief. While in the case of the psalmist, his thirst was not physical, but emotional and psychological. His was a case of a soul in anguish. He was in a state of despair, as the psalm reveals. Why? We don't know for certain. But his expressions were clearly that of a person experiencing depression.
Yet the fact remains that he was hurting from within. He was discouraged. He felt all alone. For the moment, God seemed far away. And let me say I could relate to this. It could have very well been me crying out to God for help, because I myself have gone through depression on countless occasions.
And how many others have felt like this, too? How many ended up turning to alcohol or other drugs, thinking that these things will ease their pain or eradicate it altogether? Likewise, how many have entered into what turned out to be a toxic relationship because they were lonely? For them, things only got worse.
Jails, prisons and psychiatric hospitals are filled with such people. Suffering souls. Broken men and women. Souls who have tried everything to alleviate their pain, except for calling upon the Lord for help.
Jesus, I believe, is really the one they need. He is the "Friend of sinners." He's the "Great Physician" who can heal the brokenhearted. Messiah Jesus is the "Bread of Life" who can feed a hungry soul. And He is the "Light of the World” for those who are lost in the dark crevices of society.
While Christ Himself invites us to come to Him. In an often quoted passage from Matthew's gospel account, Jesus is quoted as saying, "Come unto Me, all who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and follow My way of living. Let Me teach you how to do
this because I am humble and gentle in heart. And in Me, you will find rest find your souls, for My yoke is easy to bear, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30 which I expanded).
And as for our depressed and despondent writer of what was to become the forty-second Psalm, it appears he was lifted from his downcast condition once he saw his need to call out to the Lord. "When I remembered these things," he wrote in the fourth verse, is when he began taking steps to seek God's help.
Then came the breakthrough he needed. In the last verse of the psalm, he asked himself, "Why is my soul
feeling cast down, and why am I feeling so disturbed from within?" Then it dawned on him. "Hope in God!" he said. He then added, "I shall continue to praise Him." Why? Because he finally realized that the Lord was "the health of my countenance, and my God."
Once this depressed soul called unto the Lord, his mental and emotional health was restored. His depression was lifted. His inner suffering had now come to its end.
D.B.
The soul could be thought of as the inner core of our being, or what we would call the essence of our inner heart. I agree with this. It's basically the substance of ourselves, which God created in us all. And as we each have different personalities, so too our souls.
And like one's physical body, the soul can experience joy as well as sadness. It can know happiness as well as grief. While in the case of the psalmist, his thirst was not physical, but emotional and psychological. His was a case of a soul in anguish. He was in a state of despair, as the psalm reveals. Why? We don't know for certain. But his expressions were clearly that of a person experiencing depression.
Yet the fact remains that he was hurting from within. He was discouraged. He felt all alone. For the moment, God seemed far away. And let me say I could relate to this. It could have very well been me crying out to God for help, because I myself have gone through depression on countless occasions.
And how many others have felt like this, too? How many ended up turning to alcohol or other drugs, thinking that these things will ease their pain or eradicate it altogether? Likewise, how many have entered into what turned out to be a toxic relationship because they were lonely? For them, things only got worse.
Jails, prisons and psychiatric hospitals are filled with such people. Suffering souls. Broken men and women. Souls who have tried everything to alleviate their pain, except for calling upon the Lord for help.
Jesus, I believe, is really the one they need. He is the "Friend of sinners." He's the "Great Physician" who can heal the brokenhearted. Messiah Jesus is the "Bread of Life" who can feed a hungry soul. And He is the "Light of the World” for those who are lost in the dark crevices of society.
While Christ Himself invites us to come to Him. In an often quoted passage from Matthew's gospel account, Jesus is quoted as saying, "Come unto Me, all who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and follow My way of living. Let Me teach you how to do
this because I am humble and gentle in heart. And in Me, you will find rest find your souls, for My yoke is easy to bear, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30 which I expanded).
And as for our depressed and despondent writer of what was to become the forty-second Psalm, it appears he was lifted from his downcast condition once he saw his need to call out to the Lord. "When I remembered these things," he wrote in the fourth verse, is when he began taking steps to seek God's help.
Then came the breakthrough he needed. In the last verse of the psalm, he asked himself, "Why is my soul
feeling cast down, and why am I feeling so disturbed from within?" Then it dawned on him. "Hope in God!" he said. He then added, "I shall continue to praise Him." Why? Because he finally realized that the Lord was "the health of my countenance, and my God."
Once this depressed soul called unto the Lord, his mental and emotional health was restored. His depression was lifted. His inner suffering had now come to its end.
D.B.
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