My Soul, Why Are You Discouraged?

A few days ago, I found myself feeling down like a weight had been dropped on my shoulders and for the life of me, I couldn’t understand why. Then, the Holy Spirit reminded me of a verse by David, in which he asked himself why he felt sad and discouraged (Ps. 42:5 & 11; 43:5). The context behind this soliloquy of his was that he was going through a tough time, to the point that his tears had become his food (Ps. 42:3). We have all been through tough times. The current affairs don’t make them any easier.

When we turn on the news, we get swamped with so much bad news that makes our tough seasons even more challenging. In recent times, we have gone from Covid to the Ukraine Crisis, from runaway inflation to recession, and as if a global recession wasn’t bad enough, there have been 120,000 layoffs in the tech industry. If you are based in my home country (Nigeria), you’ll also be dealing with fuel scarcity and a government policy that has led to cash scarcity and the collapse of online banking systems.

You get the point, the times are gloomy. Earlier, I said I couldn’t understand why I was down, and neither did David. This doesn’t mean we don’t know the source of our sadness, we just don’t understand it. But what I love about David, and I’m grateful to the Holy Spirit for directing me to Ps. 42:11 and 43:5, is that even if we don’t understand why, David told himself that he would hope in God and wait expectantly. The Amp. Version says “Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him. The help of my countenance and my God.” This is the same David that had on several occasions lamented his circumstances and the mockery he was facing.

When we find ourselves feeling discouraged, instead of wallowing in it as I did for 3 days ish, we should do as David did and place our hope in God, and wait expectantly for Him; God has never disappointed and will surely not start today (Is. 55:11 & 40:8; Matt. 24:35). Num. 23:19 reminds us that God does not lie, change His mind, or fail to fulfil what He said He would do. What a beautiful reassurance! So I did as David did, I put my hope in God, jumped on YouTube and pulled out songs that helped me praise God. One song, I can never get tired of is Psalm 34 by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, such an amazing and reassuring song. Another is Yes I Will by Vertical Worship which I had on repeat when my wife and I were faced with the probability that our baby may be born prematurely. God did it!, He was born full term. Yes and Amen by Housefires was another song I leaned on, I discovered it when I was going through the wilderness of unemployment.

I said we tend not to understand why we feel discouraged because we can vividly remember the times God came through for us, yet the cares of the world still affect us like the seed that fell among the thorns (Mark 4:18-19). Whenever we feel down, remember what David said in Ps. 42:11, and strengthen yourself in the Lord your God (I Sam. 30:6). May we be like the seeds that fell on good soil in Jesus' name (Mark 4:20)! Remember the joy of the Lord is your strength (Neh. 8:10)!