Why So Downcast?
by Annalene Holtzhausen
As I was reading through Psalm 43, I thought to myself that many of us could probably relate to the psalmist’s feelings being expressed in these verses. He is crying out to the Lord for vindication and help from deceitful and wicked people. In verse 2, he speaks about being oppressed by the enemy and feeling rejected by God. In the same verse He acknowledges God as his stronghold. It’s amazing to read how he pours his heart out to the Lord. In the midst of his struggle and confusion, he is turning to God and choosing to trust Him: “Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight” (Palms 43:4.)
How often do we feel downcast, or just slightly ‘off balance’ by things that happen? Situations sometimes turn out differently to how we had hoped they would, or how we planned for them to go.
It could be a conversation that went into the wrong direction, or a planned event that worked out altogether differently to what we had expected. Comments and reactions from people can trigger an insecurity in us, and we react upon these feelings - usually blaming the other person for our reactions.
When asking the Lord to show me why I sometimes feel so upset by people’s reactions or comments, and on how to rather react from a place of peace, the question that came to my mind was: “Whom are you spending the most time with - the world (people), or Me?” Reading today’s verse is therefore so encouraging, because this is exactly what the psalmist was doing: turning to the Lord in the midst of his discouragement. He actually tells himself to put his hope in God and to praise Him. His situation wasn’t sorted out yet, but he turned to the Lord and chose to place his trust in Him.
When we go about our daily lives, caught up in our circumstances, we end up being like chickens pecking around at grains of corn on the ground. Our days roll by with a verse here and there, maybe we watch a sermon, or listen to a podcast, during of our busyness, and say a prayer in between. But the Lord has so much more in store for us! He says in Psalm 23:5: “You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings” (NLT).
Let us look up from all that causes us to be downcast today and turn our eyes to Jesus. The Lord has a better way for us than to ‘grope around in the dark’ because “He raised us up together with Him [when we believed], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, [because we are] in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6, AMP).
Isaiah 40:31: ‘But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint’ (NLT). In Philippians 4:19, Paul tells us, ‘And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus’ (NIV).
Annalene Holtzhausen is on the Associate Team at Ellel, Africa. She is married to Renier, who introduced her to Ellel Ministries. She is a full-time mother to their two boys. Her passion is for the restoration of women’s hearts and for people to find their worth in the Lord.
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