Holding Fast to Hope

Deal with discouragement as a cry for help, then take your soul in hand.

Psalm 42:1-5
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.
1 As the deer longs for streams of water,
   so I long for you, O God.
2 I thirst for God, the living God.
   When can I go and stand before him?
3 Day and night I have only tears for food,
   while my enemies continually taunt me, saying,
   “Where is this God of yours?”
4 My heart is breaking
   as I remember how it used to be:
I walked among the crowds of worshipers,
   leading a great procession to the house of God,
singing for joy and giving thanks
   amid the sound of a great celebration!
5 Why am I discouraged?
    Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
    I will praise him again—
    my Savior and my God!

Psalm 42: 6-11
6 Now I am deeply discouraged,
   but I will remember you—
even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan,
   from the land of Mount Mizar.
7 I hear the tumult of the raging seas
   as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
8 But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
   and through each night I sing his songs,
   praying to God who gives me life.
9 “O God my rock,” I cry,
   “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I wander around in grief,
   oppressed by my enemies?”
10 Their taunts break my bones.
   They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?”
11 Why am I discouraged?
    Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
    I will praise him again—
    my Savior and my God!

Causes of Spiritual Depression
Personal Temperament
Physical Condition
Spiritual Adversity
Empty Hope

Application for Treatment
Take charge of your soul

"The essence of this matter is to understand that this self of ours, this other man within us, has got to be handled. Do not listen to him; turn on him; speak to him; condemn him; scold him; exhort him; encourage him; remind him of what you know, instead of listening placidly to him and allowing him to drag you down and depress you. For that is what he will always do if you allow him to be in control."
-Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones