DEALING WITH CONFLICTING EMOTIONS

Psalm 42:8-11 NKJV 

8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, 

And in the night His song shall be with me—

A prayer to the God of my life. 

9 I will say to God my Rock, 

"Why have You forgotten me? 

Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" 

10 As with a breaking of my bones, 

My enemies reproach me, 

While they say to me all day long, 

"Where is your God?" 

11 Why are you cast down, O my soul? 

And why are you disquieted within me? 

Hope in God; 

For I shall yet praise Him, 

The help of my countenance and my God. 

 David is having some challenges as he writes this Psalm. When he says in verse three that his tears have been his food day and night, he is obviously hurting. When he quotes what his enemies are saying, it is evident he is facing some pressure.   

And we see David go back and forth. In verse eight, he declares that the Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime and that the Lord's song will be with him; those are positive. But then, in the very next verse, David calls God his rock and then asks why God has forgotten him. David's enemies are oppressing him and talking trash. His enemies are taunting him by asking, where is your God?   

It is easy to see that David is emotionally swinging back and forth. However, in typical David fashion, he winds up in a good place. He gets there by talking to himself.   

David is asking himself why he is down and troubled. But this is a rhetorical question. David does not wait for an answer or recount all the problems he is having. Instead, he tells his soul to hope in God. Biblical hope is more than a wish; it is an expectation of good. David is telling himself to expect good from God.   

And David does not stop with expecting; he takes it a step further and declares that he will praise God. From everything we see of David in the Psalms and the historical accounts, he had an active praise life. In other words, praise and worship was a frequent part of his relationship with God. In the book of Isaiah 61:3, praise is seen as a counter to the spirit of heaviness. When you are down and troubled, praising God is a way out. But David had to talk himself into going there.   

David calls God the help of his countenance. In the literal sense, it's the God who helps my face. Digging a bit deeper, we see the word help is the Hebrew word meaning salvation, deliverance, help, victory, and prosperity. That will make you smile. And David was not simply talking about God who helps him smile but the God who helps his whole person. Of course, if God has given you salvation, deliverance, help, victory, and prosperity, chances are strong that you are going to be smiling.   

David is not waiting to praise God when he sees the help and the victory. David is expecting God's intervention, so he is choosing to praise God ahead of time. "I will yet praise Him the help of my countenance," not I will wait to praise God when I see the help.   

David is dealing with some negative emotions and feelings. He was human. But David seemed to know how to talk and praise his way out of being down and troubled.   

 PRAYER  

Lord, I will praise You. You are my help, and deliverance, and salvation. My hope, my expectation, is in You.