Meeting God in the Night

Deep calls to deep
    in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
    have swept over me.

By day the Lord directs his love,
    at night his song is with me—
    a prayer to the God of my life. - Psalm 43:7-8

If we just read those verses we might think of Psalm 42 as a lovely picture of God’s tender love washing over us. But that’s not what it is.

Psalm 42 is a heart-rending cry of agony. It’s full of lines like: “When can I go and meet with God?” and “My tears have been my food day and night.” There’s a lot of self-talk that goes on in this Psalm as well, because the authors (it was a group project) wanted to capture what it’s like when you’re really down and trying to talk yourself off the edge. Listen to this line: “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God.”

So now, as we back out and see the prayer of those lines at the top in perspective, it’s even more beautiful. The authors are struggling, doubting, questioning, and trying to talk themselves through it. Then they slip into an imaginative visit to the beach, and envision God’s love overwhelming them. They also hear whispers of God’s love song echoing in their ears - right there in the middle of their struggles (note that the struggles are listed out just before the lines above and just below them).

Can you take a moment now in the midst of whatever challenges, failures, doubts, oppression, or weaknesses you are facing and let your mind wander in holy imagination and listen with the ears of faith, praying these words…

Deep calls to deep
    in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
    have swept over me.

By day the Lord directs his love,
    at night his song is with me—
    a prayer to the God of my life. - Psalm 43:7-8