Now is the time ...... To Remember

My soul is downcast within me therefore I will remember you …
Psalm 42:6

Most of us know what it is like to be ‘down in the dumps’. There are many people who spend much of their life in such a state and don’t know how to rise out of it. Depression has become almost endemic in our society, and, to be honest, many people have good reason to be depressed; abusive childhoods, abusive relationships, alcohol and drug-related issues, financial stress, workplace stress….. the list is endless.

Left untreated, depression can become a full-blown illness and it is important to understand, to love and to encourage those with depression, and to know that words like “pull yourself together”, “just have faith” or “think of how much better off you are than people in Sudan, Burma, Africa…” are not helpful at all. A depressed person often cannot even begin to see outside of their own dark world. We need to pray for God’s wisdom to know how to help. Also we can pray for the person to be touched by the Holy Spirit so they can be helped to feel God’s love for them. Love and reassurance works wonders.

In this verse, the psalmist was feeling very “downcast”. He recounts his woes and how the people around him taunted him with “where’s your God now when you need him?” His faith, however, was so deep-rooted in God that he had the strength to speak to his soul, to stir up his faith and hope for the future. He says, “therefore I will remember you (God)….” What good advice it is for us believers to remember God’s previous work in our lives; to remember how we have experienced his working, his blessing, his love and the times he has literally “come through for us” in our time of need.

Many years ago the hymn writer, Johnson Oatman Jnr wrote a wonderful hymn that many will know. The chorus goes like this –

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

I believe this is what the psalmist was doing, reminding himself that he was blessed. This gave him strength through his difficult time. We will be surprised and encouraged as we remember God’s goodness to us and our faith will stir hope in us again. We don’t have to allow depression to take us down. Let’s recognise it when it comes to us, then set our eyes on God, remember his goodness and we will be able to say with the psalmist “I will yet praise him” (vs 11). He truly loves you and will never let you go.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to always remember you in the trials of life, to remember that you are there and you are faithful. Help me to remember my blessings and be thankful. Amen