My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. – Psalm 42:6-11

This passage is actually a continuation of the passage yesterday about the Deer panting for water as our soul pants after God.  This passage takes up the sometimes confusing soul sickness that can accompany our following after God.  Part of the Christian experience seems to include both times when we feel very close to God and times when we feel far away. Job experienced numerous crashing waves that threatened to sweep him off the rock that was his faith in God.

“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.”  This statement acknowledges that we will experience very difficult and confusing times as we pursue God.  There will be times when we feel like waves and breakers have swept over us and plunged us into the deep.   The very massiveness and power of God’s mighty waters can leave us feeling like He cannot hear us.  But God has promised that even in the wildest of life storms His voice can be heard if we have ears to hear his Whisper.

Remaining faithful when detractors mock our belief saying “…all day long, “Where is your God?”  We must confidently proclaim that God is with us, even when we find it difficult to hear his voice and our soul becomes downcast.  Jesus faced this same mocking when He allowed Himself to be placed on a cross for us.  He provided us a model of how to endure mocking and maintain our faith in a loving God.  A God who cares for us more than we even care for ourselves sometimes.

I cannot shake the image of being buffeted by waves and breakers sweeping over us. I spent much of my early life near the Pacific Ocean. The power of the waves as they arrive at the shore and crash into the rocks is truly awe inspiring. One feels very small standing on the rocks watching the waves crash into the rocks as if bent on their destruction.  God can be like this but he can also be as gentle as the most gentle of lambs.  That is the paradox…God is both the lion and the lamb.

Prayer: God help us to be confident in your love when we feel like waves and breakers are crashing over us.