.....hope

Why are you downcast, O my soul?...  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:5

Looking at the western shores of Sri Lanka, I found it hard to imagine that a tsunami had struck just a few months earlier.  The sea was calm and beautiful, couples were walking in the bright sunshine, and people were going about their business - all giving the scene an ordinary feeling I wasn't prepared for. The impact of the disaster was sti1l there, but it had gone underground into the hearts and minds of the survivors. The trauma itself would not be easily forgotten.

It was catastrophic grief that prompted the psalmist to cry out in anguish: "My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, 'Where is your God?"' Psalm 42:3. The struggle of his heart had likewise been turned inward. 'While the rest of the world went on with business as usua1, he carried in his heart the need for deep and complete healing.

Only as we submit our brokeness to the good and great Shepherd of our hearts can we find the peace that allows us to respond to life: "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance" Psalm 42:5.

Hope in God -  it's the only solution for the deep traumas of the heart. 

- bill crowder