As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.
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. 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.

As I was praying this morning, this passage was brought to mind. At times in life, it can seem like waiting for God’s Mighty Right Hand to save me is getting “long in the tooth”. When I hear God speak to me to move in a certain direction, and yet it takes a long time to see his provision, it is tempting to grow weary and lose hope.

But the psalmist counters these thoughts of discouragement, as I will today. He says, “These things I remember as I pour out my soul …”, and he goes on to recite how he had protection and praised God in the midst of his enemies. And as I, in lesser ways, experience challenges in life, I too can remember the days and times God came through for me. The ways he showed me his close presence. The great provision he has always given to me and my family. And, how he is faithful and ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES.

I claim this verse today: “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.” Successes and disappointments come and go. But God is the Solid Rock of my life’s foundation. He is loving, powerful, and fiercely loyal to his children. I will, over and over and over again, go to the well of hope in my Father, when life disappoints me or the waiting for deliverance or for things to end justly takes a little longer than I’d prefer.

And when I get to the end of what I can handle, and it feels like the “waves and breakers” of life are crashing over me, I need to realize that God’s plans and purposes are DEEPER STILL than what I can see. And as deep calls out to deep, so God calls out to himself, allowing me enough challenge to strip me of my pride and make me resilient and fully reliant on him. Then he will come to my aid and rescue and redeem me.

I got this picture of hiking in the mountains. And as I climb my heart quickly starts to beat faster and I grow more tired as I take elevation. But maybe the point of this journey, which it seems, in life, I am taking over and over again, is to get my faith into extreme warrior shape. Because God wants me not just to climb in elevation in life’s journey, but to bound up the mountains with the spry energy of a deer.

He is training my faith in the challenging times, making it stronger and more resilient. He is stress-testing me to allow me to perform greater feats, by his power, in the future and all for his glory!

Lord, thank you that in the moments of trial, I can still meet with your Spirit every day. What a comfort he is! And you are building me up unto spiritual greatness in you. Your Spirit will always lead me onward toward righteous victory! Praise you, Father!