As humanity moves into exile, even though we move with hope of restoration, exile has an emotional weight in its own right .. and Psalm 42 gives it a voice. The Choir Director finds himself far away from the place of worship, thwarted with sadness and unanswered questions. His grief isn't hidden but is out in the open, yet his faith is strong and vocal.

One thing I love about this Psalm is the beauty of lament. He doesn't rush past his sorrow or sluff it off with candy-coated trivialities and platitudes. His heart sings the song of longing and his thirst for God breaks the surface like a breeching whale for all to see. This ache is not despair, however. It's memory ... memory of who God is and who he himself was created to be in God's presence. I've often wondered what it was like for Adam as he watched the pre-flood world plummet into chaos and violence, looking out from his tent thinking, "I did that. This is all because of me."

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. If this is true of mortal lovers, how much more so for us as we long for the perfect love that is the Lord. Exile often intensifies our desires, revealing the things the heart truly longs for. The Psalmist here speaks to his own soul and his own heart, reminding his broken heart that hope is not lost or canceled by distance or seeming silence.

Sometimes rugged and sure faith sounds like a reassuring reminder breaking through the thick midnight of the dark nights of the soul. I love the last verse, reminding me of what I should do when my heart is in turmoil and chaos, "Put my hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God."

Think back over your relationship with Jesus.  Where has sorrow sharpened your longing for God rather than dulled it? What faithful reminder does your soul need you to speak to it today?

Lord, sometimes my heart is genuinely heavy and distant, filled with lament and sorrow. Teach me to hope again and meet me in my longing. Remind me you are now and always will be, near. Amen.