21 Days of Hope

"Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” 

                                                      Psalm 42:11  NIV

          In 2011 when my husband and I lost our daughter Lauren (due to premature birth), this scripture was one of my “anchor” scriptures. It kept me in the harbor safe from drifting or being tossed by the waves of grief that would come crashing in at times. I even composed a song that I would play at the piano and sing to the Lord using these lyrics. I would sit and sing over and over- “I will yet praise you, I will yet praise you my savior and my God.” 

          When the author of this Psalm wrote these words he was in a very difficult season. So difficult, in fact, he had no one to encourage him, but himself. (Have you ever been there? Maybe you are in this very place now.) He writes these words asking the question “why” when he knew very well the reasons why. He has plenty to be disturbed and downcast or depressed about. However, he reminded himself where his focus and expectation should be - on God! God, the one from whom every good and perfect gift comes from. God, the one who saves, rescues, delivers from harm. Then something amazing happens. You might not think it is amazing and to be honest I didn’t think it was amazing either. Then I got a revelation of what the psalmist was really saying. 

          After he tells himself to put his HOPE in God he prophesied. Yes! That’s right! He makes a prophetic declaration. For years I have read, “for I will yet praise him, my savior and my God” as someone praising the Lord in spite of their current circumstances. I read it as someone who will praise the Lord no matter what but that is not what he is doing here. Here is someone prophesying the “yet.” This is not the “yet” of in spite of hell and high-water this is the “yet” that is referring to something that will happen in the future. What he is really telling himself here is (insert your name here) “Put your hope in God because God has something good in the future for me that will cause me to break forth into praise! “I will YET praise him!”

          Today, if you find yourself in a difficult season, I challenge you to make this your prophetic declaration. We don’t exactly know the outcome of this psalmist’s declaration (unless it is King David) but I can tell you a little part of mine. I started out this post telling you about the daughter we lost. What’s even more heart-wrenching is that she was our second daughter we lost to premature birth and my sixth miscarriage. However, in 2014 the Lord spoke to me a promise and in a span of 4 years my husband and I had a healthy son and two more daughters! In 2011 I could not imagine being able to bring home one healthy baby, but I did put my hope in God and declared: “I will yet praise you!” What fantastic surprise blessings awaited me causing me to break out in praise!

           Just think about it. Think about where you could be not long from now if you make this Psalm your own. Think about putting your hope in God and think about prophesying over your own life that you will have new and more reasons to praise him. Think about it will ya?