Downhearted?

Strutting on the grounds of Warwick Castle, England -- May 2008

Make glad the soul of Your servant,

For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

Psalm 86:4 NASB

Each summer our pastor, Dave Sowers, preaches from the book of Psalms. He calls the series "The Summer Psalms." We have been richly blessed as he takes us deeper into individual Psalms Sunday after Sunday. However, not only do we grow to understand specific Psalms at a more profound level, but we also learn new ways to pray. Pastor Dave has instructed us repeatedly that if we see one of the Psalmists cry out to God in a particular way then we can use that as a model for our praying.

A couple of weeks ago, the verse above caught my eye. When I'm feeling dragged down, I can lift my heart to the Lord and make the Psalmist's cry my plea: "O Lord, please make my soul glad. To You I lift up my soul."

I have already prayed this way on a couple of harder days when I have felt pulled down by my circumstances. Within the next hour or two it slowly dawns on me that my spirit has been buoyed. I feel hopeful again. Not so overwhelmed. Despite no change in what's happening around me, I find I'm able to relish the day, instead of merely trudging through it.