Scripture Reference: Psalm 42
The Despair of the Psalmist – Continued
John the Baptist became dreadfully depressed. He certainly had valid reasons. John was in prison and eventually was beheaded for his preaching. He was “the second Elijah,” the “forerunner” to the Messiah, who had, upon seeing Jesus, authoritatively announced, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He who had preached Jesus began to doubt Jesus. In the Gospel of Matthew we find:
“And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:2-3).
Can you imagine that? The man who had preached with an exclamation point now queried with a question mark.
He was down in that moment, but Jesus did not reprimand him. In fact, it is amazing that on the day when John the Baptist said the worst thing he had ever said about Jesus, Jesus said the best thing He ever said about John the Baptist! Jesus praised John with:
“Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).
When the prophet was caught in the trap of discouragement and despair, Jesus added the most unfamiliar Beatitude in the Bible. In fact, if I asked you to list all of the Beatitudes you would never think of this one, “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (Matthew 11:6). Here is a twentieth-century translation of that. “Blessed is he who does not become upset by how I run my business.” The Lord is running His business on schedule, carrying out His program according to His plans and His specification. God does not operate on our timetable, and sometimes it does not add up in our computers. But God is still in control, and we need to realize we can trust Him. We cannot always trace God, but we can always trust Him.
Many Christians themselves are in the dungeon of despair. It may be illness or bereavement. It may be your heart lies in the grave. It may be financial; it may be relationships. “Iron bars do not a prison make,” and we find ourselves in the cage of despair.
I do not understand everything God does or why He does it, but I refuse to be upset with how He does it. I refuse to find in Him a stumbling block. Isaiah 8:14 states that you will either perceive in God a sanctuary or a snare, a stumbling block or a snare on the one side but sustenance on the other side. God will either be to you a problem or a profit. If you try to explain God’s strategies with your logic, and you demand that God satisfy your reason, then God is going to be a snare to you. I choose to locate in Him a sanctuary.
The psalmist was extremely depressed. Great people of God over the years have faced the same kind of experience. It is not wrong to be depressed. Read of Jesus’ emotions in the garden of Gethsemane, and you will discover discouragement and depression. “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” (Matthew 26:38). He cried, He wept tears freely. It’s what you do with depression, how you handle it, how you act and react in the midst of it.
We have first the psalmist’s desire, his basic need. Then he painted a picture of despair. But then the psalmist speaks of his delight.
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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