Why Am I Sad?

Psalm 42

For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah.

As the deer pants for streams of water,

so my soul pants for you, my God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When can I go and meet with God?

My tears have been my food

day and night,

while people say to me all day long,

“Where is your God?”

These things I remember

as I pour out my soul:

how I used to go to the house of God

under the protection of the Mighty One

with shouts of joy and praise

among the festive throng.

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.

My soul is downcast within me;

therefore I will remember you

from the land of the Jordan,

the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep

in the roar of your waterfalls;

all your waves and breakers

have swept over me.

By day the Lord directs his love,

at night his song is with me—

a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God my Rock,

“Why have you forgotten me?

Why must I go about mourning,

oppressed by the enemy?”

My bones suffer mortal agony

as my foes taunt me,

saying to me all day long,

“Where is your God?”

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.

I think the passage below is a good commentary on Psalm 42. When I am depressed I now realize I will come out of it by the power of the Holy Spirit if I give my feelings to Him and also fix my mind on positive things. I do this by music, reading, and training my mind to think good thoughts. I am also in therapy which helps tremendously.

There are many reasons we may feel sad, legitimate reasons. However, after we have recognized the sadness, we can then work to move to a happier place. There is a time for grief, we should not push it down. Give the grief to God and ask him to help you live your life in peace and joy. He will do this; he has promised in his Word.

Benson Commentary:
http://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/psalms/42.htm

"This is an earnest remonstrance addressed by himself to his own soul, as if there were really no occasion for this excessive depression; as if he cherished his grief improperly. There was a brighter side, and he ought to turn to that, and take a more cheerful view of the matter. He had allowed his mind to rest on the dark side, to look at the discouraging things in his condition. He now felt that this was in some measure voluntary, or had been indulged too freely, and that it was wrong: that it was proper for a man like him to seek for comfort in brighter views; that it was a duty which he owed to himself and to the cause of religion to take brighter views. We may remark,

(1) That there are two sides to the events which occur, and which seem so discouraging to us - a dark side and a bright side.

(2) That in certain states of mind, connected often with a diseased nervous system, we are prone to look only on the dark side, to see only what is gloomy and discouraging.

(3) That this often becomes in a sense voluntary, and that we find a melancholy satisfaction in being miserable, and in making ourselves more unhappy, as if we had been wronged, and as if there were a kind of virtue in dejection and gloom - in "refusing," like Rachel, "to be comforted" Jeremiah 31:15; perhaps also feeling as if by this we were deserving of the divine approbation, and laying the foundation for some claim to favor on the score of merit.

(4) That in this we are often eminently guilty, as putting away those consolations which God has provided for us; as if a man, under the influence of some morbid feeling, should find a kind of melancholy pleasure in starving himself to death in the midst of a garden full of fruit, or dying of thirst by, the side of a running fountain. And

(5) That it is the duty of the people of God to look at the bright side of things; to think of the past mercies of God; to SURVEY the blessings which surround us still; to look to the future, in this world and the next, with hope; and to come to God, and cast the burden on him. It is a part of religious duty to be cheerful; and a man may often do more real good by a cheerful and submissive mind in times of affliction, than he could by much active effort in the days of health, plenty, and prosperity. Every sad and desponding Christian ought to say to his soul, "Why art thou thus cast down?"

Hope thou in God - That is, trust in him, with the hope that he will interpose and restore thee to the privileges and comforts heretofore enjoyed. The soul turns to God when all other hope fails, and finds comfort in the belief that he can and will aid us.

For I shall yet praise him - Margin, give thanks. The idea is, that he would yet have occasion to give him thanks for his merciful interposition. This implies a strong assurance that these troubles would not last always."

Counseling.

I went to see a counselor today for my depression and was overjoyed to find out she was a Christian too. God has worked things out for me this way many times. At different times in my life I have needed some counseling. More often than not my therapists have been Christians who easily understood my references to God.

We talked about writing in a daily journal. She said the reason this helps people so much is that our minds become too full of feelings and thoughts and if we don't talk about these different feelings with someone we can feel overwhelmed. She said that after you write each day you then throw the paper away and not read it again. This is so you don't emphasize those feelings to yourself over again.

So, I will be doing this and see how it works. I used to write my prayers down each day because I found it so hard to concentrate. I don't need to do that any longer and I will move on to writing about my feelings and thoughts, and will probably address them to God. It is wonderful how God uses different people to help you in your life and I thank and praise him for this.

In the Bible, Moses received counsel from his father-in-law and it helped him. God can use other people to help you and me also.

Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 

Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.

 But select capable men from all the people--men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain--and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied." Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.  Exodus 18:24

Fickle Feelings

I like what I read about feelings in a book of writings by Charles Spurgeon. Here is an excerpt:

"Often do we hear the lamentation - 'I do not feel that I can be saved. I do not feel that I am forgiven. I do not feel it is possible my hard heart can ever be softened and renewed.'

This is poor, foolish talk. In what way can our feelings guide us in such matters? Do you feel that the dead can be raised again? Do you feel that the cold of winter will be followed by the heat of summer? How can you feel these things? You believe them. To talk of feeling in the matter is absurd.

I am the subject of very changeful feelings; but I have learned to set small store by them, either one way or the other. Above all, I have ceased to estimate the truth of God's promise by my condition of mind."

Today I feel so joyful that I could dance, but perhaps when I wake tomorrow morning I shall only be able to sigh in harmony with Jeremiah's lamentations. Has my salvation changed according to these feelings? If so, it must have a very movable foundation.

We are saved according to facts, not fancies. Certain eternal truths prove us saved or lost; and those truths are not affected by our happiness or depressions."

Feelings

Feelings come and go. Sometimes we can feel that life is beautiful. We look at the ocean and feel that life is amazing. We look at people who love us and feel thankful. But we can also look at our bank account and feel fear. We can look at our children and feel worry. We can have someone cut us off in traffic and feel angry.

If we live by our emotions, there is sure to be trouble ahead. Emotions are unstable, unreliable and many times just plain wrong. Our feelings can be hurt by someone, but they didn't mean to hurt us. Yet our feelings can't let it go. We can get sick and our feelings tell us, "You will never get better." But the feelings are wrong and you do get better.

When I was dating my husband I once said to him, "I don't feel like God loves me." He said, "It's a good thing we don't live by our feelings then." I was stunned by his answer at the time, because that is what I did live by. If I felt God didn't love me, then he didn't.

I have learned to distrust my feelings. When I am depressed, I think good thoughts, I quote Bible verses and I remember how God has taken care of me all my life. I rarely let my feelings rule me any more. And I know God loves me, for that is what he says.

"Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look around you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
I saiah 41:10