I will say to God, 

my rock, 

"Why have you forgotten me? 

Why must I go about in sorrow because of the enemy's oppression?"

Psalms 42:9

Have you ever felt like this?

When the sadness never seems to end?

When you feel forgotten?

The psalmist knows, and God in his wisdom put this song in our Bible, 'cos there will be days when this is how it is.

My adversaries taunt me, as if crushing my bones, while all day long they say to me, 

"Where is your God?"

Psalms 42:10

It hurts.

I can't get away from the words that crush me.

They're accusing me, and then they accuse God. 

The writer of this part of the Bible is not OK.

It's OK not to be OK

Why, my soul, are you so dejected? 

Why are you in such turmoil? 

Psalm 42:11a

Then he starts talking to himself, asks himself what's going on. 

I've done all the right things and it still hurts.

Put your hope in God,

for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalms 42:11b 

There is no magic fix. 

He gets to the end of his song by telling himself, 

reminding himself, 

what to do.

Put your hope in God.

Keep doing it even when it's tough, even when it seems to make no sense, seems to make no difference. 

He reminds himself to praise. 

To do that I have to lift my eyes away from me, away from whatever I'm suffering, towards the God who does save.

Don't abandon hope. 

#psalmskeepingitreal