“Why, my soul, are you so dejected?
Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him,
my Savior and my God.”
– Psalm 43:5

One of the reasons the psalms are so precious is that they teach us how to walk in faith and love the Lord when things aren’t going well. Just about every human situation, good and bad, is addressed in those 150 prayers and the psalmists model for us how to trust in God in each. Over and over, the psalms show how to be distressed, angry, afraid, discouraged, depressed, sick, and sorrowful, while still trusting in God.

The psalms teach us to pray honestly and lay bare our hearts before our Creator. They teach us to cry out to the Lord when we don’t understand His plan, but we know He’s present. They teach us to seek the Lord even when He feels absent. They teach us to persevere in our faith even when we’re stuck in the depths of grief, guilt, or persecution.

Often in life, we feel dejected, unsettled, and disturbed. We may understand why we feel that way or we may not. However, the psalms model for us how to hope in God and praise God even when things are troubled or terrible. They remind us that God isn’t just with us in our triumphs, but He’s even more profoundly with us in our tragedies. His presence, steadfast love, faithfulness, and strength aren’t just revealed through our victories, but in how He accompanies us in our defeats.

It is a beautiful discipline to learn to hope and praise God, knowing that He remains our loving God and Savior, even during seasons of suffering.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” – Luke 12:6-7

God’s care and concern for you personally is both detailed and comprehensive. He knows and cares about every concern you feel, every burden you carry, and every need that you truly have. He cares so much that He knows every detail about you. God’s love and care for you isn’t generic or vague, nor is it from a vantage point thousands of miles away. God is very present in your life. He loves you in meticulous detail and wondrous specificity.

Let this be a great comfort! God truly understands what you’re struggling with, so it’s OK to cry out to Him. There’s nothing to hide from Him and you don’t need to try. God fully knows how you feel, so be honest in expressing yourself in prayer.

God treasures you, because you were carefully and uniquely made in His image! You are an image-bearer of the King of Kings. So go to Him in prayer, praise, sorrow, supplication, and thanksgiving, because you mean so much to Him!

“As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?”
– Psalm 42:1-2

Do you feel such a powerful desire to experience God? What a beautiful and powerful image of a heart desperately longing to feel and experience God’s presence! As the Psalmist continues, we learn that this profound thirst stems from deep depression, sorrow, humiliation, and a sense that God is absent. This is a place many believers will experience during their lives.

It seems that God uses these times when He feels altogether absent to strengthen our faith, refining it through fire. He builds our love and desire for Him independent of “what has He done for me lately.” Then, when the spiritual breakthrough finally comes, His presence is more deeply appreciated. So, if you’re currently “in the desert”, pouring out tears, wondering where God is, and desperate for His presence, keep seeking Him!

God ultimately rewards those who seek Him. Those who learn to live by the certain knowledge of His love and presence, even when they can’t feel it, eventually develop a stronger and more impactful faith, along with an awareness of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness more precious than could ever be imagined. Keep thirsting for the Lord! Keep desiring His presence! Keep praying, even if it feels like those prayers are going nowhere! God is present. God is love. God is working, even in the desert!

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.” – Deuteronomy 4:29

God knows the human heart! In a moment of triumph, as Israel was on the verge of finally entering the promised land, God knew that it wouldn’t be long before their hearts strayed away from Him and pursued false gods. So God promised that even when they strayed badly and suffered His discipline for their unfaithfulness, once they sincerely turned back to Him, He would be right there to embrace them.

This promise remains true today! Though we love Jesus, our hearts and minds will often pursue other passions with greater zeal than we pursue the Lord. Throughout our lives, we’ll raise certain things to a place of lordship in our lives (perhaps money, career, family, sports, pleasure, entertainment, safety, comfort, health, leisure, fame, accomplishment, status, or credentials, just to name a few possibilities). When we do, we’ll eventually experience God’s loving discipline to get our attention and draw us back to Him.

The good news is that when we recognize our error and turn to seek God, He’s always there! When we repent of our sin and cry out to God to forgive us, He always will. Christ died and rose from the dead so that all who believe in Him will receive forgiveness and reconciliation when we honestly seek it. So, if you feel distant from God today, or you recognize that you’ve let other things come to dominate your thoughts and feelings, turn back to God. Seek Him in the name of Christ. Seek Him in repentance, in worship, in prayer, in His Word, in meditation. Seek Him, and you will find Him!

“But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.'” – Luke 10:41-42

Mary and Martha both loved the Lord and He loved them. There’s no doubt about that! However, Martha mistakenly prioritized the urgent demands of hospitality over simply enjoying the presence of Jesus and hearing His teaching. It’s understandable and all-too-common in Christian life.

Have you made busyness more important than quietly spending time in the presence of Jesus? Are you doing so many good things that you’re missing out on the best thing? Are your practices, preferences, and traditions of religion making it hard to truly hear what Jesus said?

We don’t set out to displace Jesus in our hearts, minds, and lives, but it’s extremely easy to do. In doing so, we separate ourselves from the power and presence of Christ which makes it possible to accomplish the truly important things He calls us to do. We lose our joy, our peace, and our love when our hard work draws us away from the person and presence of Jesus. We must be intentional about spending time with Him daily. Praying. Reading His Word. Enjoying union with Him. Losing ourselves in worship of Him. Take time each day, starting right now, to simply sit at the feet of Jesus!