Moods (2)

As the deer pants for streams of water,

    so my soul pants for you, my God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
    When can I go and meet with God?
³ My tears have been my food
    day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
    “Where is your God?”
⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.

 

Psalm 42:1-5

 

Last time we looked at Psalm 42, the psalm of someone who is in a very low mood, and I pointed out that such experiences are a normal part of life. Much depends on our circumstances – our health, our personal ups and downs, disappointments and encouragements, our family situation, even something as ordinary as the weather on any given day. A lot also depends on our natural temperament – some people are naturally bright and positive, others naturally tend towards gloominess. God understands this, and loves us just the same. What matters is how we handle our moods. As the saying goes, that’s life.

 

I also pointed out that the psalmist seems determined to avoid the sin of self-pity. Yes, he does feel abandoned by God, and has a faith robust enough, like Job, to take God to task for this; but he takes himself to task too: “Why, my soul, are you downcast…?” May God give us the faith always to steer well clear of “Poor me!” mode! There are times for giving ourselves a good talking to.

 

But there are other things which I didn’t have room for. Here are three, which I’ll put in the form of personal resolves…

 

First, let’s be determined to root out any possible sin.

 

I said that low moods are normal, and not necessarily a sign of sin. But that word “necessarily” is important; low moods may be a sign of sin. Every Christian is tempted by the devil, and there are times we fall to the temptation, and if/when that happens, let’s not imagine that we are going to carry on feeling bright and sunny - unless, sadly, we have developed hard hearts.

 

The word “sin” doesn’t cover just the gross failures reflected in, say, the ten commandments – no, times we give in to hidden selfishness, or pride, or lust, or greed, or spite, or anger, or jealousy are just as offensive to our holy God. And it’s a cast-iron rule of the Christian life that you can’t be both a disobedient Christian and a happy one at the same time: the two things cancel each other out. So we need to take ourselves in hand.

 

In 2 Corinthians 13:5 Paul tells his readers to “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith”. That’s not something to do in a morbid, “I’m nothing but a worm”, frame of mind, but simply seeking light from God on anything in our lives that displeases him (and being genuinely willing to change, of course, if he does just that!). It’s no accident that Christians of an earlier generation used to warn about the danger of “backsliding”: how easy it is to drift! Is it time for a session of honest self-examination?

 

Jesus tells us to “be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48); let’s take that seriously.

 

Second, let’s not be afraid to seek help.

 

I said last time that where low moods become fixed they may also become clinical, and outside help may be needed. If there is a trusted Christian therapist available, that’s good; but we should not dismiss the value of secular professional expertise, either in terms of medication or of “talking cures”.

 

But let’s not forget that we also have (I hope!) the gift of wise and loving Christian friends who we can talk to and who we can ask to pray for us. They may have been through similar mood-swings themselves, and if they have been Christians for many years they will have gathered stores of wisdom through experience and observation from which we can benefit.

 

Prayer is key. It’s easy to slip into cynicism: “What difference will that make?” This is very natural, because we rarely see quick or obvious answers to prayer; but the plain fact is that God tells us to pray, and to do so persistently. The only alternative to praying is… well, not praying - and who, reading the Bible, can contemplate such an alternative! True, there may be times we find praying for ourselves pretty well impossible; but that’s all the more reason to recruit the support of others. Isn’t that what friends are for? A problem shared is a problem halved, says worldly wisdom – and that’s even more true for the family of God.

 

This leads to…

Third, let’s learn patience.

Reading the Bible, we are often struck by the way God’s time scheme differs from ours. He is a God who is always looking to the future. We naturally want things to happen… now, and having to wait can be frustrating, and seem to make no sense. (Just browse through the psalms as a whole and notice the repeated cry, How long, O Lord, how long…?)

But, as a great old hymn says, God is working his purpose out, as year succeeds to year… It is often through the delays that we learn the most important lessons, to mature and equip us for the unknown future. God doesn’t play games with us for fun; anything he allows to happen to us is for a purpose we can trust.

I have recently been reading through the story of Joseph, Jacob’s son, in Genesis. If ever anybody might be entitled to be overwhelmed by low moods, it would surely be him. But the wonderful climax to his story is even more overwhelming, and fully bears out the words of that hymn. Joseph, having suffered terribly, and having been brought low from his youthful arrogance, is able to assure his guilty, ashamed brothers that “God meant it for good…” (Genesis 50:20).

So it will be for all who maintain their trust in God. The same Jesus who died in agony and ignominy rose again in glory.

And so, one day, will we.

Father, I often feel so feeble and helpless as I am tossed up and down by the unpredictability of my moods. Please help me to cling hard to you in faith and obedience, making use of the kindness of my Christian brothers and sisters, until I come to that day when I can look back and see how it all fitted together. Amen.