Watching someone in complete despair, listening to them share their unrest, fears, cries of woe and anguish, and not be able to do anything but hold them, is one of the hardest things to deal with – at least for me.
In Psalm 42, the Psalmist is writing during a time of great distress: oh to stop the taunt of his enemies, to go to the temple and worship the Lord, just to find Him, see Him. He is thirsting for God in the midst of the storm. I expect we can put ourselves in his shoes with times we have felt as though the Lord has been quiet for too long. And yet as I read Psalm 42, while I hear such unrest in his spirit, such anguish in his soul, I do not hear complete and total hopelessness. His praise for and hope in God is not just written at the end of this chapter, but throughout his deepest cries he brings his focus back to the Savior.
Psalm 42:5
(NASB) “Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him for the help of His presence, my God.”
(NKJV) “Why are you cast down, oh my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.”
In the disquiet, there is a time to be still and know … know His presence, know His countenance, and still praise Him even if all seems hopeless. God doesn’t have to fix everything in order for us to hope. He doesn’t have to give a ‘yes’ to our requests for us to trust Him; He can give a ‘no’ and still be our help – the help of His presence, the truth that He is with us and always working on our behalf and for His glory. There is no getting around what the Psalmist is saying here: though in complete despair, “I will again praise Him for the help of His presence.” ‘Again’ speaks of a pattern, a habit if you will, a choice to continue in praising Him. “Wait for God; hope in God.”
When we can’t do anything but sit in anguish, or hold someone who is in despair, God still can and is working. And the help of His presence, His countenance, is enough. Let us wait on the Lord, praising Him again, for our hope is in Him.