I Shall Yet Praise Him

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” (Ps 42:11 AV)

It is a good thing to praise the LORD regardless of our circumstances.  David is sharing his deepest desire for the presence of God.  This psalm finds itself surrounded by other psalms concerning his troubles with Absalom.  The last part of this verse shows us exactly why David could endure all that God required of him.  Regardless of how life was at any given moment, David vowed to praise the LORD and acknowledge Him for what He was to him rather than what was happening at the moment.  David, in his use of the little word ‘yet’ makes a vow that nothing in life will ever cause him to cease praising God and believing that God is the giver of relief, worthy to be obeyed and trusted.

There is a lot for which we can praise God regardless of our current troubles.  We are saved and on our way to heaven.  Whatever we might be facing will be resolved in heaven.  For all of eternity, whatever it is that is stretching us to the limit will be over and forgotten.  We can praise God for our salvation.  We can praise the LORD for His mercy.  We can thank Him that His mercy did not stop at Calvary.  Even though Jesus died for all of our sins; past, present, and future; He still forgives us for the sins we are committing.  Praise the LORD we can go to Him at any time for forgiveness and affirmation.  We can praise the LORD that He never leaves nor forsakes us.  We can praise the LORD for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin, comforts us in times of trouble, and guides us through life’s choices.  We can praise the LORD for the opportunity to serve Him.  The doors that we knock on, the people we talk to, or the saints we serve are all opportunities to share the love of Christ with others.  We can praise the LORD for supplying His word perfect, and without error.  It is His voice to us.  It is His intimate way in which He touches our hearts.  There is so much for which to praise the LORD despite our current hardships.  We have wonderful families, top-notch health care, and food in our cupboards.  We can praise the LORD for life itself.

David would not allow his problems to interfere with the obligation to praise the LORD for all He is and has done.  In praising God regardless of his situation, he was reminded of just how benevolent His God is.  When we can see nothing but our circumstances and refuse to praise the LORD despite them, we soon lose sight of who and what God is.  It is like being overwhelmed by the forest we cannot see the trail leading out.  Our eyes are on Self and Self cannot recognize God.  If we set our affection on things above, the things below become blurry and eventually, not important at all.  David is our example of endurance.  He trotted through life with praise on his lips and because he did, God was able to use him like no other king who ever served God’s people.