Psalms 42 and 43 remind us that the remedy for a downcast, disturbed soul is to put our hope in God. But we are often tempted during times of distress to place our hope in someone or something else. Why is this?
Maybe it’s because we are impatient. The situation we find ourselves in may be getting worse instead of better. What if God doesn’t respond or provide direction as quickly as we think he should?
Or maybe it’s because we think we can control the situation ourselves. We might think that taking matters into our own hands is the only way to ensure the outcome we desire. Afterall, God will bless the work of our hands, won’t he?
Or maybe it’s because we aren’t quite sure if God really understands our situation. If he did, wouldn’t he have intervened by now?
But the psalmist says that we should put our hope in God because He is our Savior and our God.
Waiting on the Lord isn’t always easy, but when we do, we acknowledge that he knows best, and his timing is perfect. His grace is sufficient for each day.
Avoiding the temptation to take control can be difficult, but often what is really needed to change the situation is something only God can do. He specializes in transforming hearts.
Trusting that God understands and cares requires faith, but Jesus himself knows what it’s like to experience trials and tribulations. We have a great High Priest who can sympathize with us (Hebrews 4:14-16).
This advent season and in every season of our lives, may we put our hope in God, for he is our Savior and our God.
Mark Peters
Mark Peters began attending Trinity Church of the Nazarene in 1984. He and Heidi have two adult children, Josh who lives in Michigan with his wife Emily, and Emily who lives in Colorado with her husband Bolton. An ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene, Mark has served as a pastor and in special service roles with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries and Compassion International for more than 35 years.
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