September 23
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PSALM 42 MY SOUL THIRSTS FOR YOU, O LORD
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember, as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation6 and my God.
My soul is cast down within me; therefore, I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
– Psalm 42:1-6
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A poem inspired by this psalm by ILMA
Like an infant hungering for the mother’s milk,
So does my soul thirsts for the Lord Almighty
There is nothing else that would satisfy my longing
Only the Lord can quench my thirst and keep me holy.
When I am down and feeling empty, he fills all the void
He has given me courage when my soul is in turmoil
Hope is in God alone, praise the Lord and worship him
Especially when you are cast down and struggling with sin.
My soul will continually long for the Lord who made all things
Despite all the suffering that I go through while I am living
With loud shouts of praise, I declare the goodness of the Lord
I will abide in my Redeemer and declare his powerful word.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think many people become hopeless?
• Do you think it is true for the psalmist to say that hope is in God alone?