Many of you are aware that at 7waysfromsunday.com, I not only write a blog post each week, but I host the 7waysfromsunday podcast as well. I always end each podcast by saying, “we walk by faith and NOT by sight.” Why do I do that? Because you and I need a reminder that our Father in Heaven is BIGGER than the problems we face! Because amid our despair, we need to hope in God.
Psalm 42 is a beautiful example of this. This Psalm helps us understand that what our minds dwell on affects us spiritually, emotionally, physically, and socially. One scripture that clearly illustrates this truth is Proverbs 12:25: “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.”
I want to take us through a brief walk through Psalm 42 because we witness the psalmist, who is in distress, wavering between faith and sight, between a focus on God and a focus on himself. He longs deeply for the living God but is struggling with choosing to trust Him through faith. I think we can relate to him as well as learn from him.
As the Psalm begins, the writer expresses his deep longing (he pants) for God. “My soul pants,” “my soul thirsts for the living God.” He expresses this need while his enemies are taunting him “all day long” (v. 10). He compares this yearning for God to a deer panting for water. “*The animals need for water to sustain its life forms a fitting simile for a souls need of the living God the source of spiritual life.” In his longing, we are reminded of the truth that his soul expresses: Faith says hope!
Such faith and hope are not always easy to hold on to in times of affliction. In verses three and four, he shares how he cries all day long, longing for God’s presence and power to be revealed to his enemies. Constantly, they taunt him, “Where is your God” (v. 3). It appears that at this time, the writer was unable to be at OR worship in the “House of God” (v.4). He laments missing out on the joy and thanksgiving that always accompanied being in the house of God.
We notice that in verses three and four, his sight says despair. This is the first time we witness him wavering from faith to sight. We can relate to his suffering. Which of us has not walked through dark, uncertain, and lonely times without experiencing this tension? How did you handle that pull toward despair?
Thankfully we observe the psalmist returning to faith in verse five! He questions himself, “Why are you in despair, O my soul?” And then, he encourages himself to continue to hope in God. Even though he is troubled, he expresses confidence that he would still be able to trust and hope in God. In verse five, we see again that faith says hope! This example is so essential for us to understand. We, generally, don’t like to examine ourselves. We don’t feel comfortable looking in the mirror because we fear the reflection. But I believe that realizing who we are and where we are spiritually is vital to a consistent walk of faith regardless of what is going on in our lives.
But still, that battle rages on. The pull away from faith to sight. This is what we read in verses six and seven. “O my God, my soul is in despair within me.” The writer is in deep depression. During that “dark night of the soul,” he prayed to God. He portrays his distress figuratively as “breakers and waves” because he feels this trouble has rolled over him like one wave after another. He is expressing how overwhelmed he is. This always happens to us when we take our eyes off our God; our sight says despair.
Yet again, kind of like a teeter-totter, he rises back to faith in verse eight. Notice how confident he sounds, “The Lord will command His loving kindness. . .” He is again optimistic in His love and song that they would comfort and protect him each day and night. We see faith rising to the top again in this verse! Over and over again, two facts stand out in this Psalm: Faith says hope, and sight expresses despair.
But once again, that teeter-totter dips down, and his mind focuses on the things going on around him and the emotions they excite inside him. In verses nine and ten, he expresses his sense of abandonment amid the “oppression “of his enemy. This persecution is very painful to him, “as a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me.” Perhaps the most painful to him is how his enemies constantly taunt him concerning the seemingly absent God this man worships.
This time sight not only says despair, but it also manifests doubt. Doubt in God’s promises. Doubt in His goodness, His power, and His compassion. This is such a dark, fearful, and lonely state of the soul. Is there any way out of this dark pit of despair?
I am so thankful that this Psalm did not end at verse ten. We are blessed to have this Psalm in our Bibles because we need hope to persevere. God, in His wisdom and compassion, included such writings for us because He knows us intimately. He knows we will struggle to hold on to faith and to be steadfast in hope when everything around us argues against it.
This Psalm ends on a powerful note of encouragement! Again we read of the writer’s challenge to his soul. “Why are you in despair, o my soul?” For a second time (v.5), he grabs hold of hope. He resolves to praise God, hopes in God, and have faith in God, no matter the struggle, because he knows that his only hope and help can be found in The living God. Once again, faith says hope! “The help of my countenance.”
Below I have added some scriptures to encourage us to walk by faith and NOT by sight.
Even though we may feel it’s so, He will never leave or forsake you (Hebrews. 13:5; Joshua. 1:5).
His love is an everlasting love (Psalm. 103:17).
He is our strength when we feel exhausted (Psalm . 28:7).
He knows what we are experiencing- “He knows your rising up and sitting down” (Psalm . 139:1–18).
“1As we meditate on the Scriptures, we will discover that hope is built on Jesus Christ and His righteousness alone (Romans. 5:1–5). Psalm 27:13–14 warns that we will despair unless we look for God’s goodness in our life circumstances. While we dwell on God’s goodness, attributes, and promises, He will strengthen, build, and mature us in our faith in Him.
Nothing is permitted in our life without purpose. Therefore, we can trust God’s goodness in all things, even death, because Christ’s death, burial, and Resurrection shows us that He is the victory!
Ask God to help you walk by faith, not sight, today.”
For we walk by faith, NOT by sight.
*The Bible Knowledge Community, pg. 825
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