Thursday Devo
Scripture:
Psalm 42
For the choir director: A psalm[a] of the descendants of Korah.
1 As the deer longs for streams of water,
so I long for you, O God.
2 I thirst for God, the living God.
When can I go and stand before him?
3 Day and night I have only tears for food,
while my enemies continually taunt me, saying,
“Where is this God of yours?”
4 My heart is breaking
as I remember how it used to be:
I walked among the crowds of worshipers,
leading a great procession to the house of God,
singing for joy and giving thanks
amid the sound of a great celebration!
5 Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and 6 my God!
Now I am deeply discouraged,
but I will remember you—
even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan,
from the land of Mount Mizar.
7 I hear the tumult of the raging seas
as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
8 But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
and through each night I sing his songs,
praying to God who gives me life.
9 “O God my rock,” I cry,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I wander around in grief,
oppressed by my enemies?”
10 Their taunts break my bones.
They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?”
11 Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God!
For the choir director: A psalm[a] of the descendants of Korah.
1 As the deer longs for streams of water,
so I long for you, O God.
2 I thirst for God, the living God.
When can I go and stand before him?
3 Day and night I have only tears for food,
while my enemies continually taunt me, saying,
“Where is this God of yours?”
4 My heart is breaking
as I remember how it used to be:
I walked among the crowds of worshipers,
leading a great procession to the house of God,
singing for joy and giving thanks
amid the sound of a great celebration!
5 Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and 6 my God!
Now I am deeply discouraged,
but I will remember you—
even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan,
from the land of Mount Mizar.
7 I hear the tumult of the raging seas
as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
8 But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
and through each night I sing his songs,
praying to God who gives me life.
9 “O God my rock,” I cry,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I wander around in grief,
oppressed by my enemies?”
10 Their taunts break my bones.
They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?”
11 Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God!
Commentary:
42:7 This verse uses two images of unruly water, perhaps to contrast with the “flowing streams” of v. 1: the first portrays two waterfalls plunging into a valley, calling to one another with a roar, while the second portrays the raging sea, in which one might drown (Jonah 2:3).
42:7 The waters of suffering threaten death (see Jonah 2:3). Such suffering according to God’s will anticipates the suffering and death of Christ, and the hope for deliverance anticipates his resurrection.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 990.
42:7 The waters of suffering threaten death (see Jonah 2:3). Such suffering according to God’s will anticipates the suffering and death of Christ, and the hope for deliverance anticipates his resurrection.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 990.
Questions:
The psalmist describes his suffering with vivid imagery: "I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me." He feels as though he is being overwhelmed by wave after wave of sorrow. Sometimes life doesn't overwhelm us with one tragedy but with a steady stream of burdens: work, family struggles, financial pressure, unanswered prayers, or grief that seems to come in endless waves.
The psalmist calls them "your waves" and "your surging tides." The very waters threatening to overwhelm him were still under God's authority. Nothing had escaped God's sovereign hand. The storm was real, but it was never outside the Father's control.
That truth doesn't minimize our pain, but it can change how we endure it. Verse 8 says, "But each day the LORD pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life." God does not always remove us from the storm immediately, but He never stops surrounding His children with His covenant love. His hesed is not absent in suffering, it is often most clearly experienced there.
The psalmist calls them "your waves" and "your surging tides." The very waters threatening to overwhelm him were still under God's authority. Nothing had escaped God's sovereign hand. The storm was real, but it was never outside the Father's control.
That truth doesn't minimize our pain, but it can change how we endure it. Verse 8 says, "But each day the LORD pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life." God does not always remove us from the storm immediately, but He never stops surrounding His children with His covenant love. His hesed is not absent in suffering, it is often most clearly experienced there.
- What "waves" are crashing over your life right now? How does remembering that your circumstances are never outside of God's control change the way you face them?
- Why is it significant that the psalmist calls them God's waves rather than random circumstances? What does Psalm 42 teach us about God's sovereignty and His steadfast love existing together?
- Where have you allowed your circumstances to become louder than God's promises?What is holding you back from clinging to God's steadfast love and where do you need to stop giving in to fear or discouragement?
Prayer Topics:
- Confess the ways you have doubted God's goodness or questioned His care when life has felt overwhelming.
- Ask God to strengthen your faith, to help you recognize His steadfast love each day, and to give you endurance to trust Him until the storm has passed.
- Thank God that His steadfast, covenant love never leaves you, even in the middle of life's fiercest storms.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
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