Life is a Rollercoaster
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” Psalm 42:11
The theme of Psalm 42, according to Matthew Henry, is the “conflict between sense and faith, sense objecting and faith answering”. That’s why I entitled it, “Life is a Rollercoaster”, you know, the ups and downs of life, the times of joy and happiness and the times of doubt and fear. The writer, who is not David, begins by comparing the thirsty animal who lets its dry tongue hang out of its mouth as it longs for refreshing water to the writer’s thirst for the peace of God. Humans and animals cannot live without water. I have seen really thirsty dogs lapping up water and lapping and lapping until I think they’re going to explode. But isn’t this somewhat like how we are supposed to be filled with God to the point that we don’t think we can hold anymore of Him, which is impossible, by the way. In this life, we can never come to the point where we have all of God, mature, with nothing left to learn about Him. There’s always something to learn about God, thus our thirst continues. Only God can quench a thirsty soul.
The writer, on a downward spiral, cried all the time waiting for God to rescue him while his enemy taunted him and mocked God. He remembered the good old days when he and his loved ones joined together to worship and praise God. When he thought about those days, sometimes he became depressed thinking about those happier times, but then he realized that God was still there with him. He knew those good times would come again. I can identify with his sentiment. I watch the news and see all the horrible things that people are doing to one another and how they are shaking their fists in God’s face and wonder when He is going to step out of heaven and put an end to all of this chaos. And also like the psalmist, I remember years gone by when the churches were nearly full every Sunday morning, and how we sang songs about Jesus and the gospel, hear the man of God preach the word, and see folks go to the altar to confess their sins and get right with God. We had baptisms, not every Sunday, but at least twice a month. Sundays were honored by the closing of most stores, and folks spent time on Sunday afternoon visiting others, making homemade ice cream or cutting a watermelon, old-fashioned fellowshipping.
The psalmist expressed his solution to his depression by remembering God’s mercy and faithfulness throughout the generations. Sometimes, though, he would get mired down again in his thoughts of sorrowful times but acknowledged God’s mercy in bringing him through those down days by His loving kindness and through those sleepless nights as he sang songs of praise and prayed his deep hurts and needs to God. Then, again, he is on that rollercoaster, thinking that God has forgotten him because his enemies have just about gotten the best of him and continue to mock God. But he asked the question once again, “Why am I depressed when I have God, the hope of all mankind, with me?
We could all ask that question. I think that depression and some hopelessness has become the norm in today’s world. But, as Christians, we must put aside those feelings of doom and realize that everything that is happening is pointing in one direction–the return of Christ. I’ve never been a big fan of rollercoasters or ferris wheels. I had rather stay on a level surface, but life doesn’t always stay level. Stuff happens whether we like it or not. The psalmist asked in verse 9 why he mourned because of the oppression of the enemy? He was human just like us. Any oppression and persecution that we face as believers will only be temporary, but the enemy will be the one who will mourn for all eternity. However, we are not to rejoice in the suffering of our enemies, but rather pray that they will come to faith in Jesus Christ while there is still time to repent and believe. Even when things get tough, remember that God is always with us, and the good times will come again.
P.S. I didn’t have a picture of a rollercoaster, so I used a picture of a Ferris wheel. They both go up and down!