"Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence."
Psalm 42:5
It's been one of those weeks. One of those times when life hits you hard. Big and small things. Important and inconsequential things. To friends, to family, to acquaintances, to coworkers. When you cry about the stupid things and sit in numbed tearlessness at death and destruction. I could tell you stories about the pain and the troubles and the trials. I could tell you about exhaustion, misery, sympathy, helplessness. Of common struggles, of uncommon pain. But I won't.
There's a simple lesson that I've been meditating on for the past week. Learning to live life with an undisturbed soul. Notice that I didn't say "living an undisturbed life." Our lives will be full of disturbances. Some will be the result of our own choices. Some will follow after someone else's choice. Perhaps, someone else's sin. Some disturbances are beyond our understanding. They are simply the result of life in a fallen world (perfection exists only in heaven).
Sometimes I'm disturbed by the news (articles like these break my heart). Or by news of friends on facebook. Or things beyond my control. Or things that hurt my friends. Or when people do things that I know will hurt them eventually. Or not knowing everything about the future. Or seeing someone cry. Sometimes I'm disturbed in my soul and I don't even know why.
I go back to this verse. And I ask myself, "Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?" But I don't stop there. In the end, the answer lies in the same verse.
Hope in God!
No matter what the disturbance in my life, God is the answer.
It is the help of God's presence that keeps my soul in peace.
It is possible -- no, it is necessary -- to learn to live with an undisturbed soul. Because of God.
So I'm gonna keep on thinking about Him. Today, tomorrow and the next day.
