Feeling low is where the spirit or the soul of man is prostrated. It is as low as it can go. "Why art thou disquieted?" Now, that is an interesting word. It really means to moan internally. Oh, you may put on a good facade. Others may think that there is absolutely nothing wrong. But inside you are moaning because of the problems you have to face. And it is very easy for us to look oh anything but the bright side. How is discouragement trig gered? First, a super sensitivity to criticism. Two, an excessive aware ness of personal weakness. Three, an abnormal pride of personal achievements. Four, an unobtain able ambition beyond our abilities. Five, an absorbing jealousy over the success of others. Just let me stop here long enough to say that generally there are two things most of us cannot stand. They will cer tainly cause depression. The first is our own failure, and the second is even worse, and that is someone else's success. The sixth thing is an improper covetousness of things beyond our reach or even our fi nancial means. To search out the cause of our sorrow is often the best surgery for the depression. David inquired, "Why art thou disquieted?" He wanted to know the root of his hardship. That word "disquieted" means "tumultuated." It refers to the roaring of the sea, to the unre- lentless tossing and that constantly and fitfully. Interestingly, this text appears two times in this chapter (5 and 11) and once in the next (5). There are some Bible scholars who believe originally chapters 42 and 43 were not divided.
All sorrow and grief of the heart springs principally from our unbe lief in what God desires to do in our lives. You say, "Yes, but can He really bring me out of the dumps?" Discouragement is actu ally doubt! Who would think that Joseph, there in the pit, would some day have his brothers com ing to worship before him? Who would think that Jonah, in the very bowels of the fish's stomach, would someday evangelize an entire city, larger than most of our metro politan communities today? Who would think that Job, on the old ash heap, scraping off his dis eased infections, having lost all, would some day be doubly rich, but he was! The last part of verse five shows the triumph that the Psalmist ex perienced. "For I shall yet praise him for the help of his counte nance." It is nice to know that someone is watching. God's face is always upon us. One translation reads "the salvations (plural) of His face." Oh, what a difference such an appearance can make! There are excellent illustrations given to us in the Word of God of people who were terribly de pressed. In I Kings, the 19th chap ter, we read the story of Elijah and all of his fascinating encounters. What Sunday school child cannot remember with excitement the in cident of how, in the contest with the prophets of Baal, Elijah was able to turn the tide for God? He called down fire from heaven to defeat the enemy. It was wicked Queen Jezebel who had brought in from her father's kingdom the worship of Baal to the children of Israel. She had experienced enough of the constant conflict with Eli- Page 39
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