I met a student from Moody last week whose love had left him. He hadn’t known what it was to care so much, but his girlfriend wasn’t excited about him. I have friends who have given birth to stillborns. I have other friends who struggle with depression. The soul despairs. The soul is disturbed. We need to think of those times when God was near. We need to hope in God. There needs to be a longing, thirst, and hunger for God. He is the only one who can ultimately satisfy. Things will look up eventually.
Psalm 42
- What animal’s longing for water is compared to david’s longing for God?
- What do mockers say to David?
- What is the condition of David’s soul?
- How can peace found in God satisfy more than peace found in drugs, video games, or the arms of a lover?
- How is your soul troubled? How could God heal the hurt?
Going Deeper
Observation
- What queston does David ask himself in verse two?
- Where did David lead the people?
- What has rolled over David?
- What does God command in the daytime?
- What does david say to his rock?
Interpretation
- What fond memories might David recall of worshipping with others?
- If God is everywhere, how can he seem absent at times?
- What does, “Deep calls to deep at the sound of thy waterfalls” mean?
- Why would people be asking david where his God is?
- What were the circumstances in david’s life when he wrote this?
Application
- What do you long for?
- How do you suffer when you can not worship with others?
- Today, what would God like you to remember about how he has worked in your life?
- What could you do to allow God to talk with you deeply?
- How could you determine to praise God in spite of your circumstances?
Plymothian 
When my soul is downcast, I don’t know where to turn. Perhaps one of the greatest things I could do would be to just freewrite. Writing is my outlet, my art, my forte, and God will be in it, because God is in me.One biblical author’s forte was poetry. When his (her?) soul was downcast, he wrote the book of Lamentations. Lamentations is powerful not because of it has carefully crafted and sound epistolary theology, but because it is God-inspired and invasively, unmistakably, unapologetically human. Actually, Lamentations is carefully crafted. In its form, one would think that it was written by the most level-headed professional poet around.But its content is another thing altogether. That ballad is one of a soul writhing, screaming, disturbingly tormented. This creative lament touches our souls because we’ve been there, we may be there now, and we will be there again.And this biblical author used this genre, this lament, this soul-wrenching and tear-jerking piece, to remind us of a good God who is present and caring in our suffering. A God who, for some unknown reason, is allowing this wretched suffering, but a God whose love is steadfast and constant.For the soul in torment, creativity may be a way to meet God.Who knows? Maybe some other soul in torment will meet God through your creative work.