We say that. We want to hold fast to that and believe we can declare God’s joy to the world. Yet, we go out into the world and how quickly our hearts turn from kindness to bitterness. Someone cuts you off or speedily passes you despite the double yellow line, and anger boils up. The phone rings another interruption while trying to finish work and annoyance floods your thoughts. Joy flips into sorrow, laughter into tears. I Know God is Almighty, then why does my heart flip flop from joy to despair? What is missing? Is it that truly deep within there is an area that doesn’t fully believe? Dare we voice that thought out loud?
How often must I cry out like the father pleading for his son to be healed. He came to Jesus and said, “if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” But Jesus said to him, “If you can? All things are possible for the one who believes.” So the man cried out, “I DO BELIEVE; HELP MY UNBELIEF!” How often when we come to God, we come with that thought, “if you can, will you please?” Or perhaps, it is I do not feel my plea worthy of His attention? Sometimes, I just look around and feel it is too late. What good are my prayers if I cannot even fully control my own heart? Yet, as we study the psalms and the prophets, we find we are in good company.
King David—Psalms of Joy to Despair
Psalms 9 and 10, most scholars say are one psalm, yet begin so differently.
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonders.
2 I will rejoice and be jubilant in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and perish before You.
4 For You have maintained my just cause;
You have sat on the throne judging righteously.
5 You have rebuked the nations, You have eliminated the wicked;
You have wiped out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy has come to an end in everlasting ruins,
And You have uprooted the cities;
The very memory of them has perished.
7 But the Lord sits as King forever;
He has established His throne for judgment,
8 And He will judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the peoples fairly.
9 The Lord will also be a stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;
10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You. Psalm 9 (NASB)
Flip flop from Joy to Despair
If indeed these two psalms are actually one, look how quickly the tone changes.
Why do You stand far away, Lord?
Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the needy;
Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of his soul’s desire,
And the greedy person curses and shows disrespect to the Lord.
4 The wicked, in his haughtiness, does not seek Him.
There is no God in all his schemes.
5 His ways succeed at all times;
Yet Your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he snorts at them.
6 He says to himself, “I will not be moved;
Throughout the generations I will not be in adversity.”
7 His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression;
Under his tongue is harm and injustice.
8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
He kills the innocent in the secret places;
His eyes surreptitiously watch for the unfortunate.
9 He lurks in secret like a lion in his lair;
He lurks to catch the needy;
He catches the needy when he pulls him into his net.
10 Then he crushes the needy one, who cowers;
And unfortunate people fall by his mighty power.
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.” Psalm 10: 1-11 (NASB)
Then he turns back again to boldly pray.
Arise, Lord; God, lift up Your hand….
15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
The Lord is King forever and ever;
Nations have perished from His land.
17 Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will strengthen their heart, You will make Your ear attentive
18 To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed,
So that mankind, which is of the earth, will no longer cause terror. Psalm 10: 12,15-18 (NASB)
Psalm 42 and 43—Again, Joy to despair, then Joy
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for You, God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 I remember these things and pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go over with the multitude and walk them to the house of God,
With a voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude celebrating a festival.
I did rejoice, where are you now?
5 Why are you in despair, my soul?
And why are you restless within me?
Wait for God, for I will again praise Him
For the help of His presence, my God.
6 My soul is in despair within me;
Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan
And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
Remember, all that He has done!
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your breakers and Your waves have passed over me.
8 The Lord will send His goodness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me in the night,
A prayer to the God of my life.
Hold fast to the sounds of life, when your heart flips from joy to despair
9 I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries taunt me,
While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 Why are you in despair, my soul?
And why are you restless within me?
Wait for God, for I will again praise Him
For the help of His presence, my God.
Do not stop seeking Him through prayer and scripture.
3 Send out Your light and Your truth, they shall lead me;
They shall bring me to Your holy hill
And to Your dwelling places.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And I will praise You on the lyre, God, my God.
5 Why are you in despair, my soul?
And why are you restless within me?
Wait for God, for I will again praise Him
For the help of His presence, my God. Psalm 43: 3-5 NASB
God Is Almighty, so why do I flip-flop from joy to despair?
Well, I am not done yet. He continues to work in me transforming me every day. As I get older and more fatigued, I feel at times, my progress transgresses backwards at times. But this I know; He has promised to complete the work in me one day. I do not know what I will be like, but I will look like Him. That day, I will understand it all, as I lay down my sword at His feet and gaze up into His eyes with tears streaming down my face overwhelmed with joy.
Until then, when my heart flip-flops from joy to despair let me read.
One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
3 For it is He who rescues you from the net of the trapper
And from the deadly plague.
4 He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may take refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and wall.5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the plague that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that devastates at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And see the retaliation against the wicked.
9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge,
The Most High, your dwelling place.
10 No evil will happen to you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.11 For He will give His angels orders concerning you,
To protect you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will lift you up,
So that you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will walk upon the lion and cobra,
You will trample the young lion and the serpent.And hear His voice say of me:
14 “Because he has loved Me, I will save him;
Psalm 91
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15 He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with a long life,
And show him My salvation.
Oh Lord that I might love you more Lord each and every day.
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.
Therefore if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you today. Go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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DISCLOSURES
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2023Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Credits
New King James Version (NKJV)Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV)The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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[1] Rau, Hannah https://christianlife-waunakee.org/not-a-tame-lion/ accessed 7/1/2023