February 26, 2022
HOW DO YOU HANDLE DISCOURAGEMENT? Many tend to wallow or spiral down deeper into despair when facing sadness and discouragement. But David knew how to “encourage himself in the Lord” (1 Sam. 30:6). This psalm illustrates his method. When he felt down or out of sorts, he didn’t just drag on, he stopped and
August 28, 2020
A PSALM FOR THE SOUL When you are discouraged and “cast down,” learn to encourage yourself in the Lord (1 Sam. 30:6). Bring your soul to the Lord. Instruct your soul to “hope in God” and “praise Him.” Have you not yet learned that a fresh encounter with God will change the disposition of your
April 26, 2020
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Psalm 42:11
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depression
How many of you are struggling with depression today? How many of you have had more trouble with depression because of the pandemic? Depression causes symptoms that affect how we feel, think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, and working. The Bible is filled with those who struggled at times with the symptoms of depression, such as: Job, Moses, Naomi, David, Elijah, Jeremiah, Mary, Peter, and Paul.
Yet, no matter its cause or its degree, those who suffer from depression, need mercy not judgment. And perhaps more than anything, they need hope! In Psalms 42, the psalmist described how he put his hope in God when his soul was overwhelmed by depression. We can put our hope in God when we are overwhelmed by depression.
February 26, 2017
David had learned to encourage himself in the Lord (1 Sam. 30:6). This psalm illustrates his method. When he felt down or out of sorts, he didn’t just drag on, he stopped and found a quiet place to get alone with God. He addressed his soul, searching inside for the source of his own “disquiet.” Getting in touch with his own feelings and doubts, he carried them to the Lord, confessing his soul’s condition and changing the object of his hope from self to God. He was essentially saying, “Soul, stop hoping in yourself, that’s why you’re feeling so worried. Instead, hope in God!” After a look in the mirror to see the source of his soul’s condition, he looked up to seek the “countenance” of the Lord. Like the countenance of an anxious child that brightens to a smile when seeing the face of his mother, so David sought the help of seeing the Lord’s face.
August 28, 2016
David addressed the spiritual emptiness of his own soul by expressing his feeling towards God. His soul’s thirst for God was just as real as a deer’s thirst for water. His psalms are like prayers recorded in a spiritual journal. They reveal the heart of the man that God Himself called a “man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22). David knew that only God could satisfy his soul’s deep longing. Many today don’t recognize this need. Sure, they feel the spiritual emptiness, but they vainly attempt to fill it or medicate it with worldly things. Yet, only God will satisfy. As Augustine once said, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
February 26, 2016
David described the longing of his soul for God. The brilliant French physicist and philosopher, Pascal, proposed that such a longing was present in every human heart, saying, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus” (Blaise Pascal, Pensees). People try to fill this longing with other things, which explains the misery of many. But the human soul can only find its fullest satisfaction in Christ.
August 28, 2015
A psalm for the soul. When you are discouraged and “cast down,” learn to encourage yourself in the Lord (1 Sam. 30:6). Bring your soul to the Lord. Instruct your soul to “hope in God” and “praise Him.” Have you not yet learned that a fresh encounter with God in Word and prayer will change the disposition of your soul and therefore your “countenance,” putting a smile in place of a frown? Reset your soul’s hope from its idols and put its hope in God. Worship works.
February 26, 2013
David described the longing of his soul for God. The brilliant French physicist and philosopher, Pascal, proposed that such a longing was present in every human heart, saying, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus” (Blaise Pascal, Pensees). People try to fill this longing with other things, which explains the misery of many. But the human soul can only find its fullest satisfaction in Christ.
July 15, 2012
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Psalm 42:1-6,8
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discipleship
Stephen Combs, Pastor of Worship and Youth at Wilson Community Church, speaking on the word “Hope” on Sunday, July 15th.
August 28, 2011
David encouraged himself in the Lord. Lift your own soul up to the Lover of souls. Sometimes we are down without even knowing why, but God knows us better than we know ourselves. Cry out to Him.