Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God.
PSALM 42:11 (CSB)

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Sometimes I talk to myself. I’m sure you do, too. Self-talk is powerful. It can be powerfully good, and it can be powerfully bad. It can make us stronger. It can make us weaker. 

Psalm 42 describes a heart in turmoil. Verses 9 and 10 swing mighty low. 

I will say to God, my rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of my enemy’s oppression?”
My adversaries taunt me,
as if crushing my bones,
while all day long they say to me,
“Where is your God?”

That’s a whole lot of hurt. David’s reality at that moment was anything but good. Even so, he could remember all the times before when he was as low as low could go and how God saved him and delivered him. He knows that God’s heart had not changed. He knew that God is worth waiting for.

David talked to himself. He asked a couple of good, hard Why questions. Then he bossed himself around. 

“Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him,
my Savior and my God.”

Because God is who God is, this story will not end in a minor chord. This story and this song will move from lament to praise. Go find the cymbals. The time to make joyful noise is quickly approaching. 

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I will prepare to praise God even when all I can do is weep.

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Our Father, you are the God of happy endings. As bad as life can be, your purpose prevails. Weeping may last for the evening, but joy comes in the morning. Teach us how to trust you in the darkness by rehearsing our songs of praise. Amen.