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Colin Smith: The erosive effects of a hostile culture, the loss of a cherished role in life and in ministry, the feeling that God is far away at the very time when you feel You need Him the most. These were the experiences of David. These were the experiences of Jesus. And there may be times when they are your experience too.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I'm Steve Hiller. Glad you're with us. And Colin, we may have people who can relate to those experiences. Maybe they're even in one of those experiences right now. How does knowing that David experienced this and Jesus experienced this help us as we experience this?

Colin Smith: Well, first, just the very obvious fact that it's not unusual if the perfect son of God should have experienced things like this, then we should not be surprised if we do as well. And then this is not the end. It's not terminal. That these are experiences in the Christian life and that those who've gone before us and their Lord Himself has overcome in these experiences. And therefore, when you feel that God is far away from you, when you feel that the bottom has fallen out of your world, there is hope. There is something beyond this, and you can trust God even here. And that's the beauty of the psalm that we're looking at. We're going to see how David found his way back to hope at a time when despair seemed to be knocking at his door.

Guest (Male): Well, let's look at Psalm 42 together as we continue our message called Hope in God. Here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: We live in a changing world. And we need the help of the unchanging God. And you know, Jesus has been there too. And for three years, he enjoyed all the blessings of the most marvelous ministry. My food, he said, is to do the will of Him who sent me. In other words, Jesus found the very engagement in ministry that He was given to be nourishing to His own soul. It was a joy. It was a blessing. It's a delight. And then it's all taken away.

The disciples abandon Him. He's surrounded by darkness. He goes into the Garden of Gethsemane, and He says, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow. But the biggest problem, on top of all that, was the felt distance of God. Notice what David says at the beginning of the psalm. As a deer pants for flowing streams, so my soul pants for You, oh God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

See, David could face a hostile environment, difficult though that was. David could endure even the loss of a cherished role that he had loved. He could do these things if he felt that God was near. But you see, the problem here is that God felt far away from David just at the very moment where David felt he needed the Lord the most.

There was a priest in the 16th century known as John of the Cross. And he coined a phrase that describes what David was enduring here. He called it the dark night of the soul. Isaiah knew what this was like. He says in Isaiah 45 and verse 15 to the Lord, Truly You are a God who hides Himself. You know that experience of feeling that you're just seeking God, you need His help, and you feel like He's hiding from you.

Now, can this really be the experience of a godly person? Well, remember this was the experience of our Lord Jesus Himself. Jesus knew what it was to feel that the Father was far away just when He needed Him the most. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?

Now, this psalm really helps us. It helps us not only by describing the darker experiences that may come to a Christian in the course of life, some of the harder things that we may endure in following after Christ. But it also identifies not only the experience, but the cause that may lie behind these experiences. The erosive effects of a hostile culture. The loss of a cherished role in life and in ministry. The feeling that God is far away at the very time when you feel you need Him the most. These were the experiences of David. These were the experiences of Jesus. And there may be times when they are your experience too.

But what I want us to see today is that despite all that David was enduring, he was moved by the Holy Spirit to write a psalm that focuses on hope. That's what the psalm is about. At the very center of it, repeated three times as we have seen. Hope in God, verse 5. Hope in God, verse 11. Hope in God, Psalm 43 and verse 5.

Now, the aim of this series over these next weeks is that we will grow in hope. I want to be very practical. And so, I want us to see four strategies from the psalm as to how we can grow in hope. The first of these is to speak honestly to God. Now, you see how that's what David does here. Look at verse 9. I say to God, my rock, why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Now, notice that he says these things to God. You don't need to feel close to God in order to pray.

You can pray as David does here even when you feel that God has forgotten you. You can pray to God when you feel far from Him. You can pray to God when you don't feel like praying. You can tell Him that you feel forgotten. You can tell Him that you feel oppressed. You can tell Him that you feel absolutely, completely and utterly dried out. You can tell Him that your stomach is churning and that you are in turmoil. That's what Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane. My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow, and He says it to the Father. The presence of God is one place where you can be absolutely safe in being yourself. There is nothing that you can tell Him that He doesn't know already. He knows you completely. And therefore there is a freedom that you have to come and to speak to God in every circumstance. And that's the first thing that David does here. That's what this psalm is. It's a prayer. It's a pouring out of his soul in the presence of God.

That's the first thing, but it's not the only thing. Second, challenge yourself. If you're going to grow in hope, you need to speak honestly to God. And if you're going to grow in hope, you really need to challenge yourself. Look again at verse 5. Why are you cast down, oh my soul? And why are you in turmoil within me? Now, notice that in this verse, David is not speaking to God, he's speaking to himself. He's addressing his own soul. Why are you cast down, oh my soul?

Now, it's very important to learn to do this. Martin Lloyd-Jones, who writes so helpfully on this from Psalm 42, asks this question. Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself rather than talking to yourself? Most of your unhappiness comes from this, he says. You listen to all the thoughts and the fears, all the questions and doubts, all the forebodings that rise up from within your own soul. You listen to all that, but you don't talk to yourself. You're listening to yourself, but not talking to yourself.

So, understand this that your soul will throw up all kinds of fears. There will be times when you feel dried out and downcast and forgotten. What are you to do when these times come? Well, you do what David does here. He takes himself in hand and he challenges himself. He scolds himself. If I can put it this way, he gives himself a good talking to. And this psalm gives us a marvelous model of how to do this. How to reason with yourself. Spurgeon makes this comment, David's faith reasons with his fears and his hope argues with his sorrows.

Again, Lloyd-Jones says, this self of ours has got to be handled. Don't listen to him, Lloyd-Jones says. Turn on him. Speak to him. Condemn him. Upbraid him. Exhort him. Encourage him. Remind him of what you know instead of placidly listening to him and allowing him to drag you down. Now, I wonder if you've experienced that you listen sometimes to all the thoughts and all the fears and all the forebodings that are coming up from within, how am I going to manage this? And what happens is because you're listening to all this stuff that's coming up from your soul, it's dragging you down.

And Dr. Lloyd-Jones is saying, instead of placidly listening to all of that stuff, here's what you do. You tell it to God, and then you challenge yourself. That's what David does here. Now, why are you cast down, oh my soul? Why are you so in turmoil, disturbed within me? Put your hope in God. He's challenging himself.

Now, notice how he does this. It takes us to the third strategy. Affirm what you know to be true. Hope in God. Now, this is what David says to his dried out, tearful, downcast, turmoiled, forgotten, mourning and oppressed self. He takes his self in hand and he says to himself, hope in God. There's hope for you, he says to his own soul. And the hope for you is in God Himself.

The Apostle Paul says exactly the same thing in the New Testament in 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 10. He says, We toil and strive, and what energizes us to keep toiling and keep striving? Well, this is the reason. We toil and strive because we have set our hope on the living God. We have hope in the living God. And that's what gives us the energy to keep going and to continue to toil and continue to strive. Don't let the darkness around you dictate the conversation. Hope in God. Who He is. What He has done. What He will do. David keeps reminding himself, almost drip-feeding throughout the psalm while all of these fears are coming up, they're being answered by what he says in regards to God. He's the living God, verse 2. He's the God of my life, verse 8. He's my rock, verse 8. He's my God and my salvation, verses 5 and verse 11.

Guest (Male): Well, we've been looking at how you can grow in hope, but that word grow is key. It's not an instantaneous process. As we wait on God, though, what's the attitude that we should have in that time of waiting? We're going to come back and take a look at that in just a moment. You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. Our message is called Hope in God. It's part of a larger series called Grow in Hope. And if you ever miss a broadcast in the series, come and listen online. Our website is openthebible.org. Well, I have just a moment here. I want to let you know about the newest podcast from Open the Bible. It's called Hike Through the Bible. It's a 50-episode journey all the way from Genesis to Revelation, looking at 50 key chapters and themes in the Bible story, seeing how it all fits together. And as we are exploring the Bible together, we're going to learn more about Jesus and grow in our love for Him. In this podcast, Pastor Colin does some teaching, and then he talks about that or has a discussion with friends. If you've not checked it out yet, it's not too late. Look for Hike Through the Bible wherever you get your podcasts, and you can watch the video version on the Open the Bible YouTube channel. Simply look for Hike Through the Bible anywhere you get your podcasts. Back to the message. Here's Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: How can we grow in hope? Well, here's how David does it, and here's how we can grow in hope. You speak honestly to God. You tell Him the truth about all that's coming up from within your soul. But then you take yourself in hand. You challenge yourself. And the way that you do that is that you affirm what you know to be true about God.

And then one more thing, you wait expectantly on God. Look again at verse 5. Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God. Now, you read that verse, verse 5 of Psalm 42, and you think that would be the most marvelous ending for the psalm. But of course it doesn't end there. Notice, you see, he makes this marvelous confession of faith. Hope in God, I'm going to praise Him again. And within four verses, he's saying to God, well now, why have You forgotten me? Verse 9.

It feels almost as if he's gone back to where he started. So, you see, he has to give himself another good talking to. Verse 11. Why are you cast down, oh my soul? Why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, my salvation and my God. Well, you think now that's it. That's the end of the psalm. That's the moment of triumph, except that it's not. Remember, Psalm 42 and Psalm 43, almost certainly written as one composition at the beginning. And so you go forward another couple of verses into Psalm 43. And now he's asking God, why have You rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of my enemy? So, he has to take himself in hand again. Chapter 43 and verse 5. Why are you cast down, oh my soul? And why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God. Hope in God. For I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.

Now, thank God this is in the Bible because you know what this is like as I do. You struggle to deal with something that has really hurt you. And you think you've got over it. I've been able to forgive. And then the resentment comes back, and you wonder if you've really made any progress. You think you've come to terms with a great loss in your life. I'm beginning to find my way now. But then you find that you're thrown back into turmoil all over again. And you say, you know, I just seem to be right back where I started.

You think that you've dealt with these fears. But you find that you still have a battle on your hands. And you say, well, I ever be done with this? I don't seem to be making any progress at all. Now, when you read these psalms, it does seem like they're going round in circles. And indeed, when you face great darkness, that is exactly what it is like. You think you've won through, and then you find yourself back in the thick of the battle all over again. And you may well feel, well, am I really getting anywhere? I just don't seem to be making any progress. I'm just going round in circles.

Let me give you a picture to encourage you. Imagine a steep mountain and a long winding road that goes all the way around the bottom, and then gradually as it circles the mountain, works its way up towards the summit. You travel on the road. And as you're driving round the mountain, you keep seeing the same view. First, you're seeing the view looking north, then you're seeing the view looking west, then you're seeing the view looking south, then you're seeing the view looking east, and then you're back to the same old view looking north again. And the kids are in the back of the car and they're saying, We've seen this before. We're just going round in circles. And of course that is true. But at the same time, you are getting higher. And if you keep going, you will reach the top of the mountain. I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.

So, let this psalm be an encouragement to you. Some victories take longer than others. And the whole point of this psalm surely is that David keeps on seeking the Lord even when he seems far away. He keeps on challenging himself because he needs it. He keeps affirming what he knows to be true. There's hope for you in God. And he keeps anticipating the deliverance that will one day be his. I shall again praise Him. And he wins through because he does not give up. I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God. The lips that once said God has forgotten me will say God has delivered me because He's my God and He's my salvation.

Guest (Male): I hope that you can echo the words of the psalmist today that you know that God is your hope, that He has delivered you, that He is your salvation. Maybe as you've been listening to Open the Bible, you've realized that you don't know God the way that Pastor Colin's been talking about, but you'd like to know more about knowing God. You've got some questions, you'd like someone to talk with you about that, maybe even pray with you and then introduce you to Jesus. I hope you'll contact us here at Open the Bible. You can reach us online at openthebible.org, or even better, call and talk to one of our staff members at 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365. Well, this message today, Hope in God, is part of a larger series entitled Grow in Hope. And if you ever miss a program in the series, come and listen online. Our website is openthebible.org. You can stream the broadcast or you can download an MP3 for free. Another way to listen is through the Open the Bible app, which you'll find for free at your app store.

Guest (Male): Well, we're able to bring you Pastor Colin's teaching because of your financial generosity. We really are a listener-supported ministry. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we'd love to send you a copy of Pastor Colin's brand new 30-day devotional. It's called Grow in Hope. And Colin, why did you write this book?

Colin Smith: Well, Grow in Hope is the second of three books that we are putting out from Open the Bible this year: Grow in Faith, Grow in Hope, and Grow in Love. And the reason for all three is that as Paul says in 1 Corinthians in chapter 13, everything else will pass away. I mean, that's quite a statement, isn't it? Everything else will pass away, but these things will remain: faith, hope, and love. So, these are things of supreme importance. I'm absolutely persuaded that our greatest need is to have a stronger faith, to have a more certain hope, and to be renewed in a resilient kind of love. You know, if that happens in the lives of Christian believers, some very, very good things will follow.

Guest (Male): Well, we'd love to send you a copy of this book. Again, it's called Grow in Hope, and it's our thank you for your financial support this month. You can give at our website openthebible.org or when you call 1-877-673-6365. That's 1-877-OPEN-365. And again, the website is openthebible.org. For Pastor Colin Smith, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening, and I hope you'll join us next time. This program is a listener-supported production of Open the Bible.

Colin Smith: Hi, this is Pastor Colin again, and I want you to know about Watch Your Life. Watch Your Life is a six-session course that is geared for leaders, but accessible to every believer. The six sessions will show you how to grow in godliness, how to feed on Christ, how to pray in the Spirit, how to battle temptation, exercise faith, and discern God's will. There are questions at the end of each session, and you can use them on your own, or you can discuss them with a friend. For more information, visit openthebible.org/courses. That's openthebible.org/courses.