by Rev Douglas Brauner

Looking to Jesus when life is a struggle.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“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 42:5 New International Version

Depression is not limited to people who don’t know Jesus Christ. Depression is one of the most common maladies that I deal with in my pastoral counseling. In fact, almost all of us face situational depression at one time or another. It’s natural to feel discouraged when you lose a job. It’s normal to walk through sadness when someone we love dies.

We do not know what the psalmist was facing when he wrote these words, but we understand the feeling he communicates. His soul, the core of his being, is disturbed and downcast. Maybe he was facing grief, or the longing of his soul for something better than what he was experiencing, or maybe he couldn’t put his finger on the source of his sorrow.

In his depression, he calls his soul to look forward to the hope that he had in God.

Our youngest grandson is the first to greet us at the window when we visit, our son and daughter-in-law, and spend time with our grandchildren. He’s looking forward to a few hours with his grandparents.

Hope looks to future while living in the present. The situations that we face may not change, in fact they might get worse. We can’t control much of what is happening in the present, but we can fix our eyes on Jesus.

“For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
Romans 8:24-25 English Standard Version

Like a child waiting in anticipation, may we wait for the Lord even while we journey through times of sorrow.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado