The Panting and Persevering Soul
As I watched the events of Hurricane Helene unfold at the end of September, and heard of the devastation those in the western part of my state were facing, my heart was grieved. Normally I’m further removed geographically from natural disasters of this sort, but this time it hit much closer to home. Our family had spent many vacations in the mountains of western North Carolina. People we knew lived there. I had spoken at retreats there. And a few women who had been rescued, and were now living with family in Charlotte, came to the Bible study I teach. In the wake of death and devastation many were facing grief beyond words, which leads us to a question. What do we do or say when our soul is in utter turmoil?
When the grief is so great in your soul that you find yourself unable to find words to express it the psalms of lament help us. In particular, Psalm 42 teaches us what to do when our soul is cast down and in turmoil.
The Panting Soul
Psalm 42 is penned from the depths of despair. It is a psalm everyone can sing at some point in their lives. When the darkness closes in around us and we think we’re far from light, or when lies fill our mind and we feel far from truth, this psalm gives us words to speak. The psalmist gives us a salve for the soul steeped in suffering, but not in a trite way. We walk his road of suffering with him, beginning in deep waters of distress before moving to the summit of salvation.
The psalmist is far from where he wants to be. He wants to “appear before God” in “the house of God” (Ps. 42:2, 4). Indeed, his “soul thirsts for God” (v. 2). Instead, he testifies, “my tears have been my food day and night” (v. 3). His enemies delight in his distress as they tauntingly question his faith, “Where is your God?” (v. 4). He pants for God’s presence, which he once knew in the temple, but now feels far removed from in exile (v. 4). His soul is in turmoil, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” (v. 5). Isn’t it because he can’t return to his past, which seemed to hold much more joy than his present circumstances? Yet even as he asks the question he knows the only path forward is to “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (v. 5).
Likewise, when you and I are in the midst of depressing and devastating circumstances we must pour out our soul to God, crying out to Him to restore our hope in Him, and our praise of Him. He is present with us and hears our cries. He sees our tears. He is our Savior and our God. He is more than able to renew our hope in Him, so that we can sing of His salvation.
The Persevering Soul
In the wake of devastation and depression, it’s hard to persevere. The psalmist experienced this too. Yet he shows us the way forward. He remembers God (Ps. 42:6). Though exiled in the north, and suffering at the hand of God’s creation, he acknowledges whose waterfalls and waves they are that have overwhelmed him. “Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me” (v. 7; italics mine). Notably, in the midst of his suffering, he believes the Lord is with him by day and night. By day he experiences the Lord’s “steadfast love” and at night the Lord’s “song” is with him (v. 8). He claims God is “my rock” yet feels forgotten by Him and still mourns “because of the oppression of the enemy” (v. 9). In fact, he compares the taunting of his enemies to “a deadly wound in my bones” (v. 10). This sufferer had every reason to remain depressed. But note carefully what he does. He asks his soul a question and then answers biblically, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (v. 11). Like the psalmist, our hope must rest in the Rock of ages, not in our ruthless enemies being silenced or our rough road being straightened. After all, our enemies may continue to taunt us. Our difficult circumstances may continue to challenge us. But in the midst of hardships we have a rock upon which to cast our weary souls.
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Whether on not the devastation of Hurricane Helene hit close to home for you, all of us know what it’s like to face grief beyond words. What do you do or say when your soul is in utter turmoil? The Bible teaches us to pant for God like “a deer pants for flowing streams” (Ps. 42:1) and to persevere in the hope that we have in our Savior and our God (vv. 5, 11).
Sarah Ivill (ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary) is a Reformed author, wife, homeschooling mom, Bible study teacher, and conference speaker who lives in Matthews, North Carolina, and is a member of Christ Covenant Church (PCA). To learn more, please visit www.sarahivill.com.
