“When Hope Is All There Is”
Ps. 42
Alexander Solzhenitsyn spent part of his life in a Soviet Siberian prison. At one point he was so physically weak and discouraged that he hoped for death. The hard labor, terrible conditions, and inhumane treatment had taken its toll. He knew the guards would beat him severely and probably kill him if he stopped working. So he planned to expedite his death by simply stopping his work and leaning on his shovel. But when he stopped, a fellow Christian reached over with his shovel and quickly drew a cross at the feet of Solzhenitsyn, then erased it before a guard could see it. Solzhenitsyn would later record that his entire being was energized by that little reminder of the hope and courage we find in Christ. He found the strength to continue because a fellow believer cared enough to remind him of our hope. WHEN HOPE IS ALL THERE IS, IT IS ALL WE NEED. The Psalmist, many centuries ago, was left with only hope. So he cried out: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” So we turn to PSALM 42 for it tells us what to do when hope is all there is.
We need, first of all, to DIAGNOSE OUR HEARTS OF DOUBT. We’re not sure of the author or the circumstances of this Psalm. But we are certain it was a time of both severe threat from a vicious, persistent enemy and of popularity for misguided religious cults. As a result the Psalmist was heavy in heart, doubtful of conditions improving.
He was doubtful in two distinct ways. HE WAS, first, DOUBTFUL OF GOD. Verses 1 & 2: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Specifically he DOUBTED THE PRESENCE OF GOD. In verse 4 he painfully remembered when he used to be so very active in leading worship: “These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.” And then in verse 9 he cried out, “Why have you forgotten me?” The Psalmist was bemoaning the fact that he could not worship in the Temple. But more than that, it represented his doubt in the presence of God. He was longing for a deeper sense of God’s presence in his life, crying out for a faith that was free from fear and doubt.
Have you ever doubted the presence of God? We are not much different from the Psalmist. WE, TOO, LONG FOR GOD. We, too, feel detached from God. At times He just does not answer our questions. How could this tragedy or event happen? Why did it happen? God, why am I afraid? Will I ever feel safe again? Why did God allow me to fail? I stepped out in faith – and everything fell down around me; where was God? My child died – where was God? God is just not responding to our prayers. I prayed – believing - for healing – and what good has it done? I’ve prayed for years for my child – what good has it done? I prayed so hard that I would be accepted by that group – but I’m still an outsider; in fact, they taunt me. I’ve prayed until my strength was gone – but still I can’t kick this habit. We doubt God is anywhere around.
And THAT’S EMBARRASSING. Verse 3: “...men say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” Verse 10: “…my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” It’s one thing to feel that God is absent but it’s even worse to know His enemies are alive and well – and they are having a hay day! And it pained the Psalmist to hear God mocked; “My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me…” And, similarly, we know that our non-Christian friends are watching – they’ll take every opportunity they can to remind us that our God doesn’t seem to care. They’re waiting for us to fail – and we feel like we’re not far from doing so. We feel like we’re losing our credibility. If God wants to convert them, why doesn’t He just help me out here! We doubt the presence of God.
Second, the Psalmist was DOUBTFUL OF HIMSELF. Verse 3: “My tears have been my food day and night...” Look at verse 7: “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” The Psalmist DOUBTED THE STABILITY OF HIS VERY SOUL. He was completely demoralized by trials. He was trying hard to ride the waves of the storm but he was being overwhelmed; he felt like he was going under for the last time, unsure of how much energy he had left to keep swimming. His energy was depleted, his heart heavy, and his soul burdened. Was it any wonder he was thirsty, that he longed for God? Look at verses 5 & 11: “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?” The word downcast means to be cast down in the pits, to feel low. These are the verses Jesus drew from when He said, “Now my heart is troubled…” (John 12:27) and “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” (Mark 14:34) It is that heaviness of heart and doubt of ability to go on that drags down energy and deadens enthusiasm.
It’s a portrait that grabs our attention and garners our sympathy – because WE’VE BEEN THERE, haven’t we? We know what it is to lose that bounce in our step, to laugh less, to cry more. Our hearts become heavy with cares and worries. We begin to doubt that we have what it takes to witness for God. And we, like the Psalmist, have been demoralized by trials. We’ve doubted that we could take much more. We have, or a friend has, been laid off from work with bills to pay; people we know have died way too suddenly and unexpectedly; others we love have developed cancer or some debilitating illness; children are rebelling; spouses are turning away; teachers and clergy are abusing children. And the list goes on and on. We are weary of the fight, doubtful we can ever escape the prison of despair, let alone survive the journey to its end.
So maybe we need to change our perspective, to look not at our circumstances or the world around us, but to God. To borrow a phrase from G. K. Chesterton, WE MUST HARDEN OUR HEARTS WITH HOPE. So, with the Psalmist, (verses 5 & 11): “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my savior and my God.” The Psalmist further defined his praise in verse 6: “Therefore I will remember you… I will yet praise you.”” We need to ENGAGE IN REMEMBERING GOD’S PROMISES As Eugene Peterson put it in The Message, “When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse everything I know of you.” We are to remember what God has done.
Why? BECAUSE GOD IS FAITHFUL to His promises. ‘Promise’ is defined as “One’s pledge to another to do or not to do something specified…a declaration which gives the person a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act.” Remember what God has promised and what He has done – they are one and the same – Hebrews 6:18: “…it is impossible for God to lie…” And Hebrews 10:23: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Look at how the Psalmist views God’s faithfulness, in verse 8: “By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life.” What God promises, He will do. Where God promises, He will be. God told Moses to call him “I Am.” He was teaching Moses that He would be who and what He needed to be for any situation. He would always be present with His people. David’s way of expressing this truth, in verse 9, was: “I say to God my Rock…” God is the cave in which David hid for protection and safety, the rock upon which the disciples stood as they were martyred for Christ. In the storms of life, God alone remains steadfast and firm. And in verse 11 the word “savior” literally means, God is “the healer of my countenance.” As Aaron said in his benediction, the Lord lifts up His countenance upon us – He shines His face upon us. He puts a smile- His Smile - on our face; He changes our attitude and gives us hope. When residing in Doubting Castle, imprisoned in the Dungeon of Despair, remember God’s promises – for God is faithful.
The great evangelist Dwight L. Moody once said, “Take the promises of God. Let a man feed for a month on the promises of God. And he will not talk about how poor he is…people say, ‘Oh, my leanness! How lean I am!’ It is not their leanness, it is their laziness. If you would only read from Genesis to Revelation and see all the promises by God…to all his people everywhere – if you would spend a month feeding on the precious promises of God – you wouldn’t be complaining how poor you are. You would lift up your head and proclaim the riches of His Grace, because you couldn’t help doing it!”
Do you catch the spirit here? It’s the spirit of Christian who unlocked the dungeon door with the Key called Promise. “About midnight Saturday night, Christian and Hopeful began to pray, and continued until almost break of day. Then Christian suddenly broke out in amazement, ‘What a fool! What a fool I am to lie here in this stinking dungeon when I might walk free on the highway to glory! I have a key in my bosom called Promise which I’m sure will open any door in Doubting Castle.”(1) And it did!
It’s the spirit of Paul who wrote to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 1:9): “We believe now that we had this experience of coming to the end of our tether that we might learn to trust not in ourselves, but in God who can raise the dead.” It’s the spirit that believes that no matter how thick the bars or how dark the dungeon, GOD IS ALWAYS PRESENT AND AT WORK FOR US. So God told Moses “I will be with you.” Then the Israelites walked through the Red Sea as if on dry land; and a nation lived in the wilderness for forty years, led by a pillar of smoke by day and pillar of fire by night, and fed daily with manna from heaven; three young boys who refused to bow down to a heathen king failed to burn in a fiery furnace; a young prophet who refused to stop praying to God slept safely all night in a den of Lions; a young boy armed with only stones and a sling shot slain the enemy giant Goliath and freed his people; in the darkness of a somber night bright stars and shining angels appeared while shepherds started shouting; and a man named Jesus, the Son of God, hung on a cross and died but the tomb could not hold Him. That’s why Paul wrote that, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “yes” in Christ.” (2 Cor. 1:20) ALL THE PROMISES OF GOD FIND THEIR “YES” IN JESUS! So stay calm, stay hopeful. Hope in God. He’s with you now, and acting now for you – and will continue to act. It’s guaranteed in Jesus Christ. He is the pledge of God’s promises.
As we engage in remembering the faithfulness of God, we can WE CAN EXPECTANTLY REJOICE IN GOD’ PROMISES. Jesus is our guarantee. After all, WE KNOW WHAT THE PRESENT HOLDS. A musician stopped at the Starbucks shop on 51st and Broadway, just a skip from Times Square in Manhattan. Known as the most lucrative Starbuck location in the world, musicians loved to stop and play – the tips could be substantial. On this night the musician played keyboard while accompanying a friend. During one particular song a lady sitting nearby was swaying to the beat and singing along. After the song was completed the lady came up and apologized for singing along. “Did it bother you?” she inquired. Replied the musician, “No. We love it when people sing along. Would you like to sing up front on the next selection?” Delighted, the woman accepted. The musician offered her the opportunity to select the song they would sing. After a moment, she responded, “Do you know any hymns?” The musician had been raised in the church so was delighted and offered, “Name one.” When the woman left the choice up to the musician, she selected “His Eye is on the Sparrow.” They began to sing: “Why should I be discouraged? Why should the shadows come?” The rest of the coffee drinkers were transfixed. “I sing because I’m happy; I sing because I’m free. For His eye is on the Sparrow And I know He watches me.” At the end the applause was deafening. As the people returned to their conversation the lady said, “It’s funny that you chose that particular hymn. That was my daughter’s favorite song. She was 16. She died of a brain tumor last week.” Stunned, the musician asked if she would be okay. “I’m gonna be okay. I’ve just got to keep trusting the Lord and singing his songs, and everything’s gonna be just fine.” Coincidence? Nah! It’s God who is always present – always at work. “Surely I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Jesus – always present – binding up the broken-hearted and lifting up the fallen; offering beauty instead ashes; offering the oil of joy instead of mourning; offering a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; offering grace instead of guilt; offering life instead of death. For those who feel doubt, Jesus is the firm foundation; for those who feel insecure, Jesus is the rock; for those who are lost, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who seeks until He finds; for those who are overwhelmed by darkness, Jesus is the Light of the World; for those who are hopeless, Jesus is the anchor that holds; for those who are abandoned, Jesus is the abiding presence. With Paul we can say, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor principalities nor powers, not things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We know what the present holds.
And WE NOW KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS. The lion will lie down with the lamb; the wicked will cease their troubling; the weary will get their rest. We will survive the journey! Then there will be no more sorrow, no more tears, no more hatred, no more evil, no more hunger, no more terror, no more fear, no more war, no more hopelessness, no more sickness, no more disease, no more doubt. No more! No more! No more – because our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. On Christ the Solid Rock we stand, for there is coming a day when “The sky will unfold, preparing His entrance. The stars will applaud with thunders of praise. The sweet light in his eye will enhance those awaiting, and we shall behold him, then face to face. The angel will shout the sound of his coming. The sleeping will rise from their slumbering place. And those who remain will be changed in a twinkling. And we shall behold him, our Savior and Lord.”(2) All the promises of God find their “Yes!” in Jesus!
Yes! Jesus is coming again to make all things right. EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY. Until then, we can stand on the Rock – after all, all other ground is sinking sand. When hope is all there is, it is all we need. So, “Put your hope in God, for you will yet praise Him, your Savior and your God.”
Let us pray: “Hear our cry, O God; listen to our prayer. From the depths of our hearts we call to you, we call to you as our hearts grow faint. Lead us to the Rock that is higher than us. For you are our refuge, a strong indestructible tower against the foe. We long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. As the deer pants for streams of water, so our souls pant for you, O God. Our souls thirst for you, for you are the living God. We put our hope in you, and we will praise you, our Savior and our God, though Jesus Christ our Lord. In whose name we pray, Amen.” (Ps. 61:1-4 & Ps. 42:5)
(1) John Bunyan Pilgrim’s Progress in Today’s English, Moody Press, © 1964 by Moody Bible Institute, p.117-118
(2) “We Shall Behold Him”, Dottie Rambo, © 1980 by John T. Benson Publishing Company
