{"id":1431,"date":"2024-06-21T09:59:28","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T13:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/loveopensdoors\/?p=1431"},"modified":"2024-06-21T09:59:28","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T13:59:28","slug":"exploring-the-spiritual-depths-of-psalm-42","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/loveopensdoors\/2024\/06\/exploring-the-spiritual-depths-of-psalm-42\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the Spiritual Depths of Psalm 42\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Psalm 42<\/span><\/b> \u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n My morning prayers, Lauds today had me thinking about Psalm 42. It got me thinking about how this Psalm can teach us how to deal with challenging times. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Using the framework I posited in my other post this week, using lectio, oratio, contemplatio and meditatio, let us consider Psalm 42 (From the NIV version): <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As the deer\u00a0pants for streams of water,<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0so, my soul pants\u00a0for you, my God.<\/span> \n2\u00a0My soul thirsts\u00a0for God, for the living God.<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When can I go\u00a0and meet with God?<\/span> \n3\u00a0My tears\u00a0have been my food<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0day and night,<\/span> \nwhile people say to me all day long,<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhere is your God?\u201d<\/span> \n4\u00a0These things I remember<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0as I pour out my soul:<\/span> \nhow I used to go to the house of God<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0under the protection of the Mighty One[d]<\/span> \nwith shouts of joy\u00a0and praise<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0among the festive throng.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 5\u00a0Why, my soul, are you downcast?<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Why so disturbed\u00a0within me?<\/span> \nPut your hope in God,<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0for I will yet praise\u00a0him,<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0my Savior\u00a0and my God.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 6\u00a0My soul is downcast within me;<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0therefore, I will remember\u00a0you<\/span> \nfrom the land of the Jordan,<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0the heights of Hermon\u2014from Mount Mizar.<\/span> \n7\u00a0Deep calls to deep<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0in the roar of your waterfalls;<\/span> \nall your waves and breakers<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0have swept over me.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 8\u00a0By day the\u00a0Lord\u00a0directs his love,<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0at night\u00a0his song\u00a0is with me\u2014<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a prayer to the God of my life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 9\u00a0I say to God my Rock,<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhy have you forgotten\u00a0me?<\/span> \nWhy must I go about mourning,<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0oppressed\u00a0by the enemy?\u201d<\/span> \n10\u00a0My bones suffer mortal agony<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0as my foes taunt\u00a0me,<\/span> \nsaying to me all day long,<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhere is your God?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 11\u00a0Why, my soul, are you downcast?<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Why so disturbed within me?<\/span> \nPut your hope in God,<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0for I will yet praise him,<\/span> \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0my Savior and my God.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Psalm 42 deals with several topics that I want to explore:\u00a0 expression of deep sorrow, yearning for God\u2019s presence, and trusting in God amidst trials. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Expression of Deep Sorrow<\/span><\/b> \u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n We must entertain the question, \u201chow does the Psalmist\u2019s expression reflect our own experiences of hardship?\u201d As a therapist, I spend a lot of time teaching people how to feel. Because of my education and training, I can approach this both from a psychological point of view, but also from a spiritual viewpoint. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hardship is part of the human experience, full stop. You do not get off this round ball without experiencing some sort of hardship in life. The Buddhists tell us that we suffer because we cling. Here, the Psalmist embraces his suffering, and he demonstrates fully for the reader to see. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In teaching people to feel, I will use words like, \u201cbe gentle with yourself, these are real emotions.\u201d In this statement, I normalize the experience for the client. Again, in this Psalm, we see the effusion of emotional response. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yearning for God\u2019s Presence<\/span><\/b> \u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n Here, we must entertain the question, \u201chow does the Psalmist balance his feelings of abandonment with his trust in God?\u201d So often in the Psalms, the psalmist is asking God, \u201cwhy are you so far away?\u201d While I am not entirely sure of the cultural context of this, it is easy to see why some would say the God of the Old Testament is distant, far away and authoritarian. I tend however to believe that God is closer to us than we perceive. Whether we consider the presence of the Holy Spirit (<\/span>https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/loveopensdoors\/2024\/06\/the-spiritual-journey-of-being-present\/<\/span><\/a> ) Or we see a softer quality of God (<\/span>https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/loveopensdoors\/2024\/05\/the-mothering-qualities-of-god\/<\/span><\/a> ), we can see that God is very close to us. In fact, we will see this as this Psalm progresses, the Lord directs his love. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Trusting God Amidst Trials<\/span><\/b>******** ** \u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n ** ********Here, we must consider the question, \u201chow can the repeated encouragement to hope in God guide us in our daily lives?\u201d Hope is a spiritual practice it enhances our optimism and balances the despair as exampled in this Psalm. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One of the many problems I run into as a mental health clinician is the overwhelming lack of support some of my clients have in their lives. One of the many things I teach parents is that it is our job as parents to create meaning. For us in the churches, for us who claim the title of Christian, we need to continually reflect on the topic of hope and find ways to help others in despair enhance their optimism though continual encouragement of hope in God. I often claim that Jesus and God are not MacGuffins (<\/span>https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MacGuffin<\/span><\/a> ). <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As a practice, putting our hope in God is a practice in patience. God\u2019s timing is not our timing, God\u2019s work and intentions are not ours. We cannot manipulate God or God\u2019s will (that is why God is not a MacGuffin). Putting our hope in God cultivates our tolerance to deal with delays and willingness to let life unfold in its own time. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Thinking about this Psalm as a Spiritual Practice of You<\/span><\/b>********** ** \u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n ** There is a term I learned when I was in my internship for my Master\u2019s, \u201chopeless, helpless, worthless.\u201d This term describes a person who is potentially at the end of their emotional reserve, potentially close to or considering suicidality. One of the many topics I address as a clinician is the topic of why did God allow this to happen? Or where is God in all of this? <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** If you are a person struggling with your mental health, do not despair. God has not abandoned you. More than likely this will be a foreign concept because like many of my clients, you have been abandoned at some point in your life. Family, friends, even your faith. I tend to believe in a God who is the ultimate embodiment of love. In a future post, I intend to talk about grace. You are in God\u2019s eyes, wonderfully made, you are a gift from the divine and you are a potential seat of Christ. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** Be gentle with yourself. You are a spiritual practice. We are all on the road of becoming. Your past does not need to imprison you. You are more than the things done to you. There is hope. You are loved, by me and by God. Full stop. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ** **********Psalm 42\u00a0 My morning prayers, Lauds today had me thinking about Psalm 42. It got me thinking about how this Psalm can teach us how to deal with challenging times. \u00a0 Using the framework I posited in my other post this week, using lectio, oratio, contemplatio and meditatio, let us consider Psalm 42 (From the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5414,"featured_media":1410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[47,447,50,444],"class_list":["post-1431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-despair","tag-gods-love","tag-hope","tag-sorrow"],"yoast_head":"\nExploring the Spiritual Depths of Psalm 42\u00a0<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Psalm 42 is a practice of you. 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