Why Are You Upset?
” Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.” Ps. 45:5
We are complicated beings! Have you ever felt sad, dejected, defeated…but you honestly did not know why?!
That is the joy of feelings. They can be so fickle! We have to set a watch over our thoughts and feelings if we want to live victorious lives. Otherwise, our lives are led by feelings and get messy in a hurry! Instead, we must be led by the Word and Spirit of God.
Here the Psalmist is asking himself the hard questions. Why are you cast down, and discouraged, soul? Why are you troubled? Disturbed? Disquieted? In turmoil?
Obviously there are times that life hands us discouragement , disappointment, sickness, and hardship. But many times, when we cannot identify a precipitating cause for our melancholy, we can assume that our feelings are leading us. It is OK to question that. In fact, we should! As Joyce Meyer says, we should, “Think about what you’re thinking about.” We should scrutinize our thought life and make sure that we are thinking on is positive and uplifting. Paul put it this way:
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Phil. 4:8
Now notice in today’s text, the redirection in the third line of this verse. He goes from questions to an imperative sentence. He commands himself to hope in God. He even goes on to declare, “For I shall yet praise Him!” We not only get to choose what we think about, but we choose where to put our hope! We choose to get our worship on and defeat the enemy of our soul!
Life can look dismal. Bleak. But we do not have to live according to the seeing of the eye. We are to live by faith, not by sight! We are to live by the Word, not by our feelings. When we do, His Spirit gives us the power to live above our reality and live, instead, in His potential and provision.
Are you feeling downhearted today? Put your hope in God! Line your thoughts and words up with the truth of His Word. There you will find help and hope for every situation of life!
Oh Lord, I pray today for those suffering with depression, discouragement and despondency. Show them that their hope is in you. Guide them into thoughts that are uplifting, pure and lovely. Give us an awareness of our thoughts and attitudes and bathe them in Your Spirit, we pray. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Amen! You are right; we have a daily choice where to put our hope. When I feel dismayed, I will think of Scripture or put on some uplifting music.